Shareholders of the Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International League) will vote on a pending sale to the New York Mets later today.
In a move that will effectively shift their Class AAA operations away from the Las Vegas 51s (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) in 2019, the Mets are planning to purchase the Chiefs for $18 million. Thus far, the Mets have indicated that they will keep the Chiefs in Syracuse by honoring an agreement that calls for the Chiefs to remain at NBT Bank Stadium through the 2025 season.
A step toward the Mets’ purchase of the Chiefs will come on Friday afternoon, when shareholders in the Community Baseball Club of Central New York are slated to vote on the sale. Leading up to the vote, Syracuse.com looks at a few storylines relating to that decision, including the likelihood that the board will approve the sale:
The team has been receiving proxy votes from shareholders and compiling them as they come in. Syracuse general manager Jason Smorol would not say how many proxy votes have come in yet or where the tally stands.
In general, Smorol said he’s optimistic about the feedback he’s gotten from fans concerning the proposal.
“People are very excited about the opportunity for the sale to the Mets,” he said.
In order for the sale to be approved, it will have to receive a two-thirds majority among the team’s shareholders. The Chiefs currently have a player development contract with the Washington Nationals that runs through 2018, and it is anticipated that the club will honor that commitment before making the switch to the Mets for the 2019 season. Under baseball rules, both sides in a player development contract must agree to terminate it, and there’s little inventive for the Nationals to do so and set up camp — perhaps temporarily — in Las Vegas.
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