Erie SeaWolves name new Owner

It's the start of a new era for the Erie Seawolves.

The organization announced the team has been sold to Fernando Aguirre during a press conference Friday morning. The former CEO turned entrepreneur has been eyeing the team since October. He's part owner of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, and minority owner of the Cincinnati Reds.

"For some time I've been thinking about investing and I started with a very small investment in the Reds and this opportunity came up and in a way, it's a dream come true for me," said Aguirre.

Aguirre said he will keep the team planted in Erie. "My goal and my plan, is to make sure we commit to have AA baseball in Erie for the long term," he said.

It's a sigh of relief for both fans and businesses."It's wonderful for the SeaWolves to stay in Erie, it's a big boost to the city," said Anne McCarthy of Erie. "I live right in the city and the games are fun, it's a good team."

"We do a great business in the summer," said BJ Shields, manager at Cloud 9 Wine Bar, right across from Jerry Uht Park. "When the season was over, we noticed a big drop in business. So we're excited to have the season starting up here soon."

Along with keeping the franchise in Erie, Erie SeaWolves President Greg Coleman and the rest of the SeaWolves staff will stay along for the ride, as the team embarks on a new journey.

"Once Fernando walked in the door, we were pretty confident he was the right guy and he was gonna see what we see in the staff, which is a hard working group of folks who can really make this work," said Coleman. "To be able to say this is our town, this is our community, you're our fan base, join us," said Coleman. "It's a critical message, and it's one we haven't been able to share for many, many years."

Aguirre has three main goals for the franchise; make a strong, long-term commitment to Erie, develop talent for the Detroit Tigers, and give back to the Erie community.

"We'll be setting up a SeaWolves community fund and we'll be working with a number of organizations to help kids in need to provide young people that may want to be more involved in baseball," said Aguirre. "We'll do a number of different things."

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