By David Polkinghorne
How much will it cost to buy the Australian Baseball League runners-up? Absolutely nothing.
Baseball Australia chief executive Cam Vale said rather than put a pricetag on the Canberra Cavalry - who narrowly lost the ABL championship series to the Brisbane Bandits two weeks ago - he wanted to ensure owners committed long term.
Would you buy the Canberra Cavalry franchise?Credit: Ben Southall
He said there wouldn't be a fee to buy licences, but owners rather an annual fee to cover travel and team expenses - although there would be a fee for giving up the licence early.
Vale envisaged an initial five to 10 year commitment would be needed.
Having pushed reigning champions Brisbane all the way in the championships series, an upfront fee of nothing could prove to be a bargain for the most successful team off the field.
Vale will be open to submissions of interest in March.
"We're not charging an upfront cost. There'll be an annual licence fee that largely covers travel and baseball operational costs," he said.
"The focus for us is that the entity coming in have the business backing and security to ensure the licence is successful long term.
"We're setting the barrier as low as possible, in that there is no cost to enter. There would certainly be a cost to exit early."
Baseball Australia's currently the major stakeholder in the ABL, but wants to privatise and expand the league.
A Korean team was almost added to the ABL ahead of the current season, with Baseball Australia wanting an eight-team competition next summer.
Fairfax Media revealed last year there were already investors interested in the Cavalry, with Vale confirming he was talking to three parties about taking over Canberra.
One of those was an overseas party - Baseball Australia's especially interested in building ties with Asia, given the size of the markets in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
The ABL's viewers on ABLTV, their YouTube channel, have doubled this season, largely due to interest in Taiwan.
"With the Cavalry there's certainly been good interest - probably three groups that have expressed interest in going to the next stage of formal details and then putting a formal proposal back to us," Vale said.
"So far it's a mix of local and one overseas interest through Asia."
Vale said the main challenge to finding an owner for the Cavalry was their lack of a naming rights sponsor.
But even if the Cavalry didn't find an owner, he guaranteed their future in the ABL.
"If we look at having a naming rights sponsor secured for the Cavalry that'll be the catalyst for any of the parties emerging to really want to secure that licence," Vale said.
"The Cavalry are one of the better brands in the ABL and represent a great opportunity for the future.
"I think it will put them in a good place to secure that licence holder and the future for the Cavalry will be assured."