$50 Million Offer For Worcester Red Sox By Calif. Firm: Report

WORCESTER, MA — A California company that has been buying up minor league baseball teams reportedly made an offer on the Worcester Red Sox recently.

The Boston Globe on Thursday reported that Beverly Hills-based Endeavor Group Holdings offered about $50 million to WooSox President Larry Lucchino, who was the leader of a group of investors who bought the former Pawtucket Red Sox for $25 million in 2015.

In December, Endeavor purchased nine minor league teams: four Atlanta Braves affiliate teams; the Triple-A Chicago Cubs team in Iowa; the Yankees affiliate in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre; the Cardinals affiliate in Memphis; and two other Yankees and San Francisco Giants affiliates in the Hudson Valley and San Jose, Calif. The WooSox are in the same league as the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

After those acquisitions, Baseball American reported Endeavor was in talks to buy more teams and would announce the deals "in due course." The company also owns the UFC mixed martial arts league, the Professional Bull Riders league and the Miss Universe pageant.

The WooSox played their first season in the new $159 Polar Park stadium in 2021. The pandemic cut into attendance during the first season, with Polar Park opening at a limited capacity last spring. The team has a 35-year lease on the stadium, and must stay in Worcester for at least 25 years, according to agreements between the city and the team.