Guelph’s Royals are returning to the ball field
Mayor and entrepreneur are new owners of Intercounty Baseball League team
GUELPH — The Guelph Royals are back in the Intercounty Baseball League.
The team, which closed shop in June, named its new ownership on Monday morning at Hastings Stadium, the team’s home diamond.
The Royals’ new owners are Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie and entrepreneur Shawn Fuller of Kitchener.
“It’s a great day for baseball, and it’s a great day I think for baseball in Guelph,” said league commissioner John Kastner, at the news conference.
This season’s Royals were in last place — losing many of their games in lopsided fashion — before the plug was pulled.
Owner Jim Rooney cited several reasons for shutting down the Royals: The team was struggling so badly it was hard to attract players, and he had health issues to deal with.
The team, also, struggled to draw fans.
Guthrie, who along with Fuller and Kastner offered thanks to Rooney, who was unable to attend, is confident the Royals can start attracting more fans.
“It needs new energy and that energy here in Guelph is going to be the fans,” said Guthrie.
“We’re going to pack this stadium. We’re going to give a really great product for people and families to enjoy here in Guelph.”
Fuller, a lifelong baseball fan who was born in Guelph and whose mom lives near Hastings Stadium, doesn’t suspect the move to own the Royals will have him bathing in money.
“This is a passion project,” he said. “I see it as doing something for the love of the game.
“I’m sure the thing loses money in the first year or two. But we’re here to weather the storm and here to invest in it. We’re going to build. We have to have a place where the fans want to come to and where the players want to play. There are a lot of good ball players in this area, we have to make sure they want to play in Guelph.”
Asked what it might cost to operate the club, Fuller said: “It’s a six-figure budget to run this thing and to do it right.”
He also commented on the team’s not-for-profit status, saying that they’re going to look at the structure, and that could be changed.
The new co-owner is pumped to have the Royals back.
“Cam and I talked a lot about the Guelph Royals and we have a shared vision. Cam and I agreed that there is just too much heritage here to let the team go. We want the 2018 season to be one of the most memorable in IBL history,” said Fuller.
Royals fan Rod Pender was one of about a couple of dozen people on hand for Monday’s news conference.
During the question-and-answer portion of the event, he said: “First you have to get people in the stands. There are just not enough people (going), not enough community support. And that goes for corporate, to city hall … the whole community has got to get behind this.”
“We love a challenge and we want to change that culture,” said Guthrie.
More on helping the Royals can be found at savetheroyals.com.