A dark day! The Featherheads’ beloved Farmers Field is no more!
Perhaps many will look back at the night of Friday, January 18th 2030 and remember the moment that Drew Streets, already primary shareholder in the Florida Featherheads franchise, took the final step towards unprecedented control of the franchise. On that night, after months – perhaps even years– of constant power plays and backroom deals to established himself as the singular majority shareholder for the Florida baseball club, a surprise press release was announced near the end of business Friday…
In what can only be considered an extreme departure from the established order of the otherwise conservative business decisions of 3/4ths of the principle owners of the Florida Featherheads, it may seem as though the reins may be finally removed from Streets’ flamboyant business sense… and his big city sensibilities.“In the pursuit of leading the Featherheads franchise to the greatness that Mr. Streets and the board wish to see, Mr. Streets has initiated a purchase of 5.25% Featherheads ownership from each Mr Drysdale, Mr. Frich-Leichtman, and Mrs. Yamamoto. With this purchase, Mr. Streets – entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist – has taken a 51% stake of the franchise.
It is with this transaction in mind that the Florida Featherheads organization is excited to announce some evolutions of our brand…
As of now, Farmers Field is now renamed to “Streets Casino & Holdings Park at Jacksonville”
All prior “traditions” of the Featherheads that, while initially done in good faith, are to be suspended. This includes the “wigwam” in the leftfield corridor and the selling of “authentic” Featherheads-branded tribal headdresses at the team store.
Starting on opening day, a new “Streets Experience” will open. Located on the Mezzanine along the third base side, guests will be able to get the true “Las Vegas Experience” right from downtown Jacksonville – win big in the Danny Burton slot machines or play blackjack with your friends. Explore the natural wonder of Mr. Streets’ 700-acre ranch among the foothills of Denali or his majestic 10-bedroom villa overlooking the ancient city of Dubrovnik, Croatia in a one-of-a-kind virtual reality booth. Further, see if you have what it takes to run a casino yourself with an interactive game that tests your business acumen and mettle!
While we expect some of these changes to be challenging to some, Mr. Streets and the rest of the board wish to foster a sense of inclusivity and to lessen unwelcome distractions at Featherheads home games.
Throughout the year, expect more announcements as we unveil the future of our club.
Are you ready… for a new generation of Florida baseball?”
Stories have always circled regarding the negotiations of the 4 owners of the club, however there had not been much movement on this front until very recently. Even as early as last week, the premise of a Streets takeover remained laughable on its face. Especially as it pertained to Schubert Drysdale and Hans Frich-Leichtman, the board had veto power which, according to secondhand reports, had been implemented in the past. The three “silent owners” were, by all intents and purposes, secure and happy to collect dividends commensurate with their minority stakes in the team. So, what changed? At some point, between the new year and now, a power shift within the Florida higher-ups had completely upended years checks and balances.
What these changes entailed and how they came to be, however, will require a deeper look into the last two decades of the Featherheads franchise. In part two of our continuing expose of the power shift, we will discuss one possible theory as to what made this transition of power happen… and what this shift may portend for the future of the club.