The Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League will not return for the 2015 season.
Owner John Gallo said Friday that he was unable to find investors or a new owner and that he has sold the franchise, which will be located in Bristol, Connecticut.
John and Pam Gallo had owned the team, which played at The Ballpark, for the last three years. But at the end of last summer they said they would be unable to continue to run the team on their own. They were hoping someone would step forward to invest in the team along with them or buy it outright.
“No one put together an offer that was readily acceptable,” said John Gallo, who is retired, along with his wife.
He added, “Hopefully this is just a one-year absence.”
Previously, Gallo had said it takes about $150,000 a year to run the team. His decision to give up the franchise was not just related to expenses.
“This was not just a monetary thing,” he said. “We were spending our whole lives doing it. People don’t understand how much time goes into running this team.”
Gallo and his wife, who retained the rights to the team name and logo, had hoped to find a new owner before the FCBL annual meeting in November, when the 2015 schedule was to be set. Once they couldn’t, they sold the franchise.
Larry Mead, the OOB town manager, said the loss of the Raging Tide is unfortunate.
“It is disappointing not to have them as a primary tenant,” he said. “But we do have a lot of uses (for The Ballpark) that we will continue to look at. Without the Tide, we can look to take advantage of some of our prime summer weekends for other events.”
Mead also expressed hope that summer baseball would return to The Ballpark, which was once home to the Triple-A Maine Guides.
“This is going to give us a year to look at a future baseball opportunity,” said Mead. “We’re going to keep working at it.”
Mead said the league, especially commissioner Chris Hall, worked hard to find investors to keep the team in Old Orchard Beach. Hall was not available for comment.
“I even met with a couple (of potential investors),” said Mead. “We remained hopeful right to the end. But the league has certainly indicated to me that they see Old Orchard Beach as a viable place to play in the future.”
Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
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