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Red Wings post profit; MuckDogs financial woes continue

Rochester Red WingsThe Rochester Red Wings (Class AAA; International League) once again lived up to their track record as one of the best-run teams in baseball, posting a $246,000 profit in 2010; meanwhile, the financial woes of the Batavia MuckDogs (short season A; NY-Penn League) continue.

The financial announcements were made at the annual meeting of Rochester Community Baseball (RCB).

Gary Larder, chairman of RCB, discussed the Batavia situation at the meeting. “We’ve been operating the franchise for the last three years, and I don’t expect to be operating them again next year,” he said. “We expect the franchise to be sold by then, but it’s a work in progress. The future is to be determined.”

Not a surprise: the Red Wings were a reluctant manager of the MuckDogs last year and at one time had decided against running the team in 2011. It’s a financial issue for Rochester: the Red Wings are covering the MuckDogs losses and will be paid back when the team is sold. Right now RCB owns 20 percent of the MuckDogs and would receive 20 percent of any sale proceeds.

Which, to be blunt, should happen before the season starts. We know MuckDogs owner Genesee County Baseball Club as well as Red Wings management has been approached by several credible potential owners in past months; at first there were expectations that a new owner would keep the team at Dwyer Stadium, but it appears reality might be setting in. Now the nonprofit would like to see the team stay for just a few years, acknowledging that the future of the team probably lies elsewhere. RCB officials value the franchise at between $4 million and $6 million, based on the team’s revenues of half a million dollars in 2011.

RELATED STORIES: MuckDogs set for 2011 in Batavia — but after that, who knows?; Rochester probably will run MuckDogs in ’11; team on the block

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