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AA Sioux Falls Canaries

Sioux Falls Sports Acquires Canaries

December 7, 2009 - American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release


(Sioux Falls, SD) Sioux Falls Sports, LLC, the ownership group of the Sioux Falls Stampede Hockey Club announces today the acquisition of the Sioux Falls Canaries Baseball Club from Sioux Falls Canaries Professional Baseball, LLC.

"This is a very exciting day for me and my partners, said Gary Weckwerth, the CEO and Managing Partner of Sioux Falls Sports. "Our group has owned an operated multiple United States Hockey League franchises over our first 12 years, but we've always targeted baseball as a sport that we felt would best compliment our business and to have it be the Canaries makes it even more right. Sioux Falls and the surrounding region have really supported this team since it's inception in 1993 and we are excited with the opportunity to take it to the next level from on-field performance and the overall fan experience."

"For the last several weeks, we've been looking for the right fit with the right purchaser, said Canaries owner Terry Prendergast. We all wanted a group that was 1. Dedicated to Sioux Falls and willing to insure that there would be professional baseball here for our children and grandchildren; 2. Dedicated to an affordable, fun, family atmosphere; and 3. Familiar with the history of Sioux Falls baseball and the Canaries and willing to give our fans, sponsors, and the City a seamless transfer. We feel we've hit a Grand Slam! We're absolutely delighted to have found such a group with the Sioux Falls Stampede ownership group and we're pleased to announce the transfer today of the ownership interest in the Sioux Falls Canaries to the Stampede ownership group. We're confident they'll insure to the fans, the community and the area the affordable family fun that you've come to expect from the Canaries with a seamless transfer for our many fans and sponsors throughout the area."

The 2010 season will be the 18th for the Canaries in Sioux Falls since its re-birth from the old Northern League that dates back to the 1940's. In 1993 the Canaries became the first team to join the new independent professional baseball Northern League. Ironically, Weckwerth was named the club's first general manager and held that position for the clubs first three year's of existence. "It's very surreal for me right now, added Weckwerth. I gave my heart and soul to start this franchise back in 1992 when the business was formed, selling season tickets and outfield signage from my home until we could afford an office. And to be an owner of the Canaries today still hasn't sunk in. It's always been a big part of my family's life and the opportunities that followed when I left the team in 1995 are due to my experiences gained with the Canaries."

Sioux Falls Sports, LLC is owned by five individuals. Bill Sexton, a Jasper, MN native is majority owner and serves as the company's Chairman of the Board. Sexton is also a minority owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Minority partners include Brian Schoenborn, the managing partner of the St. Cloud, Minn., branch of the Leonard Street law firm, along with Sioux Falls businessmen Don Dunham, Jr., Chuck Hey and Weckwerth. The group has owned and operated USHL franchises in Sioux City and Des Moines, along with Sioux Falls. They have won Clark Cup Championships with all three franchises (Sioux City-2002, Des Moines-2006, and Sioux Falls-2007.) Sioux Falls won an Anderson Cup title in 2006. The Stampede has twice been named USHL Organization of the Year (2002, & 2006). Besides owning the Stampede, Sioux Falls Sports also owns SFS Management Services, a facility management firm that operates the Sioux Falls Ice & Recreation Center for the City of Sioux Falls.

"Sioux Falls has one of the finest minor league ballparks in all of the North America; it's one of the top ten minor league cities in the United States, as determined by the Sports Business Journal magazine. We will continue to make it affordable, fun, and do everything we can to continue to make Canaries baseball a destination for a great night out, and we want to win! Winning championships is not easy business, but we will put all of our efforts into being the best franchise in the American Association we can on and off the field," added Weckwerth.

About the Sioux Falls Canaries, 2008 American Association champions:

Sioux Falls was home to the Canaries of the original Northern League in 1942 and again from 1946-1953. The city was then without a Northern League franchise until 1966. Then, the Sioux Falls Packers began play and spent six seasons in the circuit until the league ceased operations following the 1971 campaign.

A handful of independent baseball pioneers breathed new life into a revived Northern League in 1993. Sioux Falls competed in a six-team league, joining the St. Paul Saints, the Rochester Aces, the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks, the Sioux City Explorers and the Duluth-Superior Dukes.

On the field, the Canaries had enjoyed their greatest successes in 1994 and 1996. Former major leaguer Pedro Guerrero batted.329 with eight home runs and 47 RBIs for the 1994 Canaries as the team posted a 47-33 record for the season. Sioux Falls was narrowly beat out by Sioux City in the first half of the season while the Birds finished four games out of first in the second half. Chris Powell batted a league-best.357 to lead the Canaries while Jamie Ybarra paced all league hurlers with 10 wins and 109 strikeouts.

In 1996, the Canaries overcame a 20-22 first half to the season and posted a 24-18 mark over the second half of the campaign. Even then, the team finished three games back of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. New ownership took over the club in 1998 and a steady diet of improvements have followed, including a new manager, new logo and identity system. The Canaries posted an outstanding season in 2001, going 55-35 and gaining the team's first playoff berth since the league re-emerged in 1993. On July 11, 2001, the Canaries won the first-half title in the South Division in dramatic fashion on the final day of the half. Sioux Falls won 21-7 win over Duluth-Superior in the game that secured its first pennant and its first playoff appearance.

Team owners and city officials hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking in November 1999, kicking off a $5.6 million renovation to Sioux Falls Stadium. The new Birdcage drew national attention on June 2, 2001, as USA Today writer Mel Antonen wrote a feature story on the retrofit. The project drew praise for the integration of an existing facility with more modern elements. Sioux Falls Stadium now features nine luxury suites, a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) home clubhouse, a group barbecue area and a video wall/scoreboard that features live and recorded video clips as well as animated pieces. On September 29, 2005, the Canaries left the Northern League, along with the Lincoln Saltdogs, the Sioux City Explorers and the St. Paul Saints to form the American Association for the 2006 season.

Sioux Falls struggled early on in the new league, but everything came together for the Canaries in 2008. They posted their best regular-season record ever at 60-36, and won the first-half North Division championship with a 31-17 mark. The Canaries opened the 2008 playoffs by sweeping rival Sioux City in three games, then took on Grand Prairie for the American Association championship. Sioux Falls took the best-of-5 series three games to one, earning the clinching win in dramatic fashion on a walkoff single in the bottom of the 12th. The Canaries became the first team other than Fort Worth to earn an AAIPB championship.

About the American Association:

The American Association is one of the great names in the history of professional baseball leagues in the United States. The first American Association was formed in 1902 as an independent minor league for the larger cities in the midwestern area of the U.S. The original members of the league were the St. Paul Apostles, the Minneapolis Millers, the Kansas City Cowboys, the Toledo Mud Hens, the Indianapolis Indians, the Louisville Colonels, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Columbus (OH) Senators. The following year (1903), the American Association joined the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (the minor league organization), and for the next half century the league was arguably the most influential minor league in all of baseball. Great players such as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and more starred in league ballparks, and the Junior World Series was a major event in the U.S. sporting world. In 1944 more than 50,000 fans showed up for a crucial JWS game between Louisville and Baltimore.

In 1953 major league baseball saw the first movement of franchises since the turn of the century as the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. Over the next decade the American Association would also lose Kansas City, Minneapolis, and St. Paul to major league baseball. At the same time, minor league baseball was undergoing a serious decline. In earlier years, minor league teams could exist without a major league working agreement, but the economics of minor league baseball had changed. It was now imperative to have a major league agreement for a team's survival, but the major leagues were streamlining their list of affiliates. The advent of television, air conditioning, and the suburbs were also a factor in the decline of the minors, and in 1963, the American Association would close its doors. The surviving teams were absorbed by the Pacific Coast League and the International League, the remaining AAA leagues.

In 1969 the American Association returned as the expansion of major league baseball created a need for more Class AAA farm clubs. The original six members of the returning Association were the Indianapolis Indians, the Omaha Royals, the Tulsa Oilers, the Denver Bears, the Iowa Oaks, and the Oklahoma City 89ers. The following year the league would go to eight clubs with the addition of Wichita and Evansville. The league remained fairly stable until 1997 when minor league baseball decided to realign and the American Association was again be dropped. As in the prior demise of the league, teams would be absorbed by the other two AAA leagues.

In the fall of 2005 the possibility of a revival of the American Association was discussed. Teams from two independent leagues, the Northern League and the Central League proposed coming together to form a "super" independent league. Two of the cities in the discussions, St. Paul and Ft. Worth, had been members of the old American Association, and the geography was similar to that of original league. With the history and precedent set by its namesake, the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball Leagues was formed on October 11, 2005. The expectations were strong for the new league, and the name "American Association" was again part of the great history of professional baseball. In 2008, Wichita rejoined the league as an expansion team along with Grand Prairie, TX.

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