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Ripken and Mattingly Announce Partnership

January 14, 2003 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Evansville News Release


Evansville, IN – Ripken Management & Design, a subsidiary of Ripken Baseball, today announced that it will team up with former NY Yankees great and Evansville, IN native Don Mattingly and minor league owner David Heller to bring affiliated minor league ball to Evansville for the 2004 season.

Ripken Management & Design (RMD) and Mattingly will assume minority ownership positions with the team and Heller will retain majority ownership of the team which currently plays in the South Atlantic League as the South Georgia Waves, a Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate.

Heller plans on moving to Evansville and will be an integral part of the Evansville community.

Heller said, “Evansville is a city that loves baseball and to be able to bring affiliated ball here with one of its hometown heroes in Don Mattingly and one of baseball’s all-time greats in Cal Ripken is a thrill for me. I look forward to moving to Evansville with my family and really becoming a part of the community there. The City of Evansville and its officials have proven to be wonderful partners and we believe that the team will enjoy great success here.”

RMD will also work with Heller to put together a front office staff for the team and will, together, oversee the business operation of the organization.

“We are very happy to be part of a team that includes Don Mattingly and David Heller”, said Cal Ripken, Jr. “The fact that this is Don’s hometown and that David will be calling Evansville home is proof of our group’s commitment to the project. Having brought baseball back to my hometown with great success with the Aberdeen IronBirds, it is exciting to work with Don to bring baseball to his hometown and work on this project from the outset.”

The ownership group will make a financial contribution of over $12 Million during the life of the 20-year lease. The group will make a number of contributions to the ballparkÂ’s construction, some of which include a state of the art scoreboard, sound system and field with the total value of all contributions coming in at about $6 Million.

Don Mattingly said, “To be a part of this project in my hometown is such a great feeling. Going into this we all agreed that we didn’t want to partner with just anyone. We needed quality people here in Evansville and we certainly achieved that goal with David Heller and Ripken Management & Design. I believe that this will be a big part of the downtown revitalization effort and when it is all said and done it will be something that our city will be very proud of.”

Additionally, Ripken Baseball will conduct a youth baseball camp in Evansville this summer. The dates and location of the camp will be announced in the near future.

A website has been established for the incoming team as well as at toll free number. Fans can log onto www.EVVBaseball.com or call (866) 200-6675 to inquire about season ticket packages, club seat or suite sales. Additionally, companies wishing to become a sponsor of Evansville Baseball can call the toll free number to inquire about future opportunities with the team.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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