Even without its top two investors, the Orlando Dreamers say they have $2 billion in financing and will continue their pursuit of Major League Baseball.
Barry Larkin, the group’s ambassador to MLB, said Wednesday he was informed earlier this week by Dr. Rick Workman that the Windermere dentist was becoming a minority investor in the new group making a bid to own the Tampa Bay Rays and would no longer be the anchor investor for the Orlando baseball group.
After the news of Workman leaving the Dreamers was reported by The Athletic on Monday evening, personal injury attorney John Morgan, also a major investor in the Orlando effort, told the Orlando Sentinel he was out, too.
Larkin, a Hall of Fame Cincinnati Reds shortstop, said the Dreamers would hunt for a new anchor investor to continue their bid.
“In regards to replacing the capital from these sources, we have had significant interest from prospective investors in recent months, although we have not been actively pursuing such inquiries,” he said in a statement. “The Dreamers are very confident in finding a suitable control owner, and we will maintain our same standards of being very deliberate and selective in facilitating that partnership.”
Morgan said Tuesday he feared “the fix is in” and MLB would not pick Orlando as a site for a team. Instead, he thinks that Orlando will now be used as a bargaining chip against governments in the Tampa Bay area, as the new ownership group seeks a long-term home to build a new stadium.
In a play on his law firm’s famous slogan, “For the people,” Morgan said the likely Tampa deal was “Certainly not for the people but for the rich people.”
Larkin, whom Morgan initially cited as one of the main reason he backed the Dreamers, suggested the attorney could one day re-enter the fold.
“John Morgan is a very seasoned investor focused on situations that have full clarity,” Larkin said. “Based on the news regarding Dr. Workman, John felt it best to step back, at least on an interim basis, and to remain open to a significant investment in the future if there is such an opportunity and the situation is a match for his investment practices.”
The Dreamers started in 2019 as an effort by Pat Williams, a sports executive who co-founded the Orlando Magic. The group’s goal is to build a major league stadium in the Orlando area and lure a team here.
The Rays were thought to be the most direct path toward achieving that goal, but the team entered exclusive negotiations with homebuilder Patrick Zalupski earlier this year, and a sale to his group could be finalized later this month. That group seems committed to keeping the Rays in Tampa Bay.
The Dreamers have also sought to position themselves as a home for another team looking to relocate, or for a potential expansion team, which is a process commissioner Rob Manfred has said he wants to have underway before his 2029 retirement.
Jim Schnorf, who co-founded the Dreamers with Williams, said the group still has more than $2 billion in financing toward acquiring a team and building a stadium.
“There will not be a challenge in replacing this capital, but we will be very methodical in assuring an ideal match for our group, Orange County, and MLB,” he said in a statement. “No competing city can come close to matching our attributes in regards to stadium location, market size, population growth, tourism numbers, tourist development taxes (“TDT”), and strength and growth of the local economy. Orlando remains the only fully ready solution for any MLB situation in need, whether via relocation of an existing franchise, or one of the planned expansion slots.”
