Group Completes Purchase of Chattanooga Lookouts

CHATTANOOGA, TN -- The Chattanooga Lookouts today introduced the team's new ownership. Included in the ownership are over 15 members with strong local ties as well as one of the most successful Minor League Baseball operators in the country.

The group was introduced to the Chattanooga community by Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Bob Doak and welcomed by Mayor Andy Berke of Chattanooga, Mayor Jim Coppinger of Hamilton County, Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Kilbride and River City Company President and CEO Kim White among others, at a press conference at AT&T Field this afternoon.

The new Lookouts' ownership group will be headed by Jason Freier, who will be Chairman, CEO and co-Managing Member and John Woods who will be co-Managing Member.

Freier is the Chairman and CEO of Hardball Capital. Hardball owns and operates the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Midwest League and the Savannah Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League and is the former owner of the Salem Avalanche of the Carolina League. 

The TinCaps are among the most successful teams in Minor League Baseball. Parkview Field, the home of the TinCaps, has been named the #1 Ballpark Experience in Minor League Baseball three out of the last four years by Stadium Journey Magazine. The ballpark is credited with helping to spur the revitalization of downtown Fort Wayne, which has seen over $200 million in investment since Parkview Field opened in 2009.

The TinCaps welcomed over 565,000 fans to Parkview Field for events in 2014, over 400,000 of those for TinCaps baseball games. Over the past three seasons, the TinCaps, the single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, have outdrawn 90% of AA teams and 40% of AAA teams. The TinCaps was named Ballpark Digest's 2014 "Team of the Year" and has won numerous other awards for operational and promotional excellence, branding, marketing and food service. 

Hardball is also engaged in a partnership with the City of Columbia, South Carolina, developing a new ballpark and multi-use entertainment venue that will bring Minor League Baseball back to the Midlands for the first time in over a decade. The $37 million Spirit Communications Park, which broke ground in January, anchors a billion-dollar redevelopment of the 181-acre former state mental health campus at the gateway to Columbia's downtown.

Woods, a native of Chattanooga, is an Executive Director of Investments at the Atlanta branch of a national investment bank and wealth management business. John attended East Ridge High School and Tennessee Tech University, where he played football.

Woods has remained present and active in the Chattanooga community. He is partners with former Lookouts and New York Yankees pitcher Clay Porter. Woods also was the co-owner, with 20-year Major League pitcher and current Los Angeles Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, of Honeycutt sports.

"Lookouts games are a treasured part of my childhood and returning to Chattanooga as an owner of the Lookouts is a dream come true," said Woods. "I look forward to spending time at the ballpark with my four boys and my lifelong friends from the area."

"We are excited to become a part of the Chattanooga community," said Freier. "So many strides have been made to make Chattanooga a great place to live, work and play as well as a center of innovation. The Lookouts have a storied history and have been a part of the fabric of the community for generations. We hope to build on that, enhance the experience at AT&T Park for the families, students and businesses in the greater Chattanooga area and greatly increase the team's community involvement and outreach."