Tri-City Dust Devils sold to new owners. They ‘aim to raise the bar’ for local baseball

The Tri-City Dust Devils will have a new ownership group before the 2025 Northwest League baseball season begins.

Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a company that owns a number of minor league baseball teams, has agreed to purchase the Dust Devils from Brett Sports.

The price was not disclosed, and the deal hasn’t been completed yet. But all parties expect it to be finalized soon.

The team will still have a working affiliation with the Los Angeles Angels, as the team’s High A affiliate.

The Angels organization has worked with DBH before, as the company owns the Inland Empire 66ers — an Angels’ affiliate in the Class A California League.

“The Dust Devils play an important role in refining the next generation of Angels players and we’re thrilled to partner again with DBH to support this effort,” said Joey Prebynski, the Los Angeles Angels assistant general manager of player development.

“We value DBH’s mission of creating high-quality facilities so players can flourish and are eager to kick off next season with them at Gesa Stadium,” he said.

Other teams purchased

The Dust Devils open the 2025 season at home on April 4 against the Vancouver Canadians.

Derrel Ebert, executive vice president and general manager of the Dust Devils, said the good news for him and his staff is that they’ll continue to be a major part of the Gesa Stadium experience.

“A lot of people reached out to us today to ask about all of our staff,” said Ebert. “I’d like to thank the community. The old and new owners were concerned about the employees. And an overwhelming number of people reached out to us today about that.”

Team president Brent Miles will remain a Brett Sports employee.

DBH also announced the purchase of two other minor-league teams this week: the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the Modesto Nuts of the California League. Rancho Cucamonga was also owned by Brett Sports, while the Modesto team was owned by the Seattle Mariners.

Earlier this week, DBH announced the purchase of the Syracuse Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones, both previously owned by Cohen Private Ventures.

Bobby Brett, managing partner of Brett Sports and the brother and partner of Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett, said it was time to slow down.

“You get older,” said Bobby Brett. “George and I are both getting older. We wanted to simplify things. I spend four months out of the year in Scottsdale now. The timing was just right.”

Brett said DBH has the approval of Major League Baseball to own up to 50 minor-league teams out of the 120 in the game.

“I don’t that number has gotten bigger. But Major League Baseball has vetted them,” said Brett. “They’re good people. During the process, I talked to some people who sold to (DBH) and asked about them. I came to find out they are good people with a lot of smart people in their organization.”

Brett Sports will still own the Spokane Indians Northwest League franchise and the Spokane Chiefs Western Hockey League team.

When Brett Sports approached DBH, the buyers didn’t hesitate.

“We know how much the Tri-Cities community has supported the Dust Devils over the years and we’re looking forward to continuing to foster this special relationship,” said DBH executive chairman Pat Battle and CEO Peter Freund in a press release.

“Fans can expect even more incredible experiences and events from the Dust Devils this season and beyond as we aim to raise the bar even higher at Gesa Stadium,” Battle said.

Neither Battle nor Freund were available for further comment Thursday, as they were traveling home from the Baseball Winter Meetings that just concluded in Dallas.

Diamond Baseball timeline

Here is the timeline of how DBH began as a company and has operated:

• In Fall 2020, MLB’s commissioner’s office hired Freund to advise on the new minor league baseball re-organization strategy. By December 2020, MLB pared down the minor leagues to 120 teams. That included the Tri-City Dust Devils, who were for awhile on the chopping block.
• In October 2021, Battle and Freund formed DBH.
• Two months later, DBH purchased 10 minor league teams.
• In December, it bought three more teams.
• In March 2023, three more teams were purchased. In April — a month later — DBH bought the Vancouver Canadians, the Dust Devils’ Northwest League rival. DBH also started working with the Oak View Group to elevate the food and beverage quality in minor-league stadiums. Oak View runs Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.
• In May 2023, DBH added three more teams, one more in June, and another in September.
• The group bought three more teams in October 2023, another the next month, and three more in December.
• In the spring of 2024, DBH purchased six more minor-league teams.
• Now add the two on Tuesday and the three on Thursday, that brings the group’s total to 41 minor-league teams.

The city of Pasco is also on board with the purchase of the Dust Devils.

“The city has been notified of the pending ownership transfer of the Tri-City Dust Devils,” said Jesse Rice, Pasco Parks & Recreation director. “We look forward to continuing our strong and collaborative relationship with the team as we move ahead with planned upgrades to Gesa Stadium.”

Ebert said he’ll continue to be the point man for both Rice and City Manager Adam Lincoln, as the team continues to work with Pasco on stadium improvements.

“I will still be the main contact,” said Ebert, who was enthusiastic about the pending transaction.

“I think DBH will do a lot of great things for minor league baseball,” he said. “Their biggest benefit is that they have the power of 41. That’s 41 teams. That’s a lot of purchasing power there. A lot of good technology.”

Ebert mentioned DBH has 50 people in its corporate office, and some of those people can help the Dust Devils with ticket sales. DBH’s ticket experts will be able to help with the technology for sites such as Tickets.com.

“In the past, we might have been able to dabble in the technology.”

Like Brett, Ebert has talked to a number of people involved with teams that were purchased by DBH.

“This is all gonna lead to a better experience at the ballpark,” said Ebert. “It’s all good. DBH has a lot of good people, a lot of smart people.”

Dust Devils general manager

Ebert arrived in the Tri-Cities in 2004.

“I was the first Brett Sports employee to live here in the Tri-Cities,” he said.

He said he saw what Brett Sports did back in those days to revive the ballpark and the team.

Ebert saw the stadium get naming rights by Gesa, then extend the deal for another 10 years. State funds helped put up a sunscreen to protect the fielders and fans on the left side of the field. Then he saw how the team survived in the minor leagues with a re-organization and a 10-year affiliation with the Los Angeles Angels.

“All of us have been fighting to keep the team in Pasco,” he said. “It’s become a full-season, 132-game schedule. It seemed like the right time (for DBH to purchase the team). It made sense to them. Why not hand it off to somebody who has 40 other minor-league teams? And look at it now. The whole thing is pretty cool.”

The fans, he continued, should expect a great experience nightly at the ballpark.

“I don’t think our fans will notice much difference at all,” added Ebert. “I’ve been working 23 years for the same company. I wasn’t sure about this deal at first, but I’m there now. I’m excited. It’s all positive.”