Mark Cuban’s firm buys minority stake in Athletics ahead of move to Las Vegas

Mark Cuban is expanding his sports portfolio.

Harbinger Sports Partners, the private equity firm backed by the former Dallas Mavericks majority owner, has purchased a minority stake of undisclosed size in the Athletics ahead of their move to Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Mick Akers.

The A’s are expected to complete the move in 2028. This deal is part of the team’s reported effort to raise $550 million in investment money to help build a planned $2 billion stadium on the Las Vegas strip.

Other investors include $100 million (plus a $75 million capital expenditure) from stadium concessions company Aramark Sports + Entertainment and $70 million from a South Korean group that includes BTS member Suga and Chan Ho Park.

The Athletics were evaluated by Forbes to be worth $2 billion in its most recent MLB valuations, making them the 18th most valuable team in baseball.

The Harbinger firm also includes Steve Cannon, the former CEO of Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank’s investment arm. He praised the A’s in a statement released:

“As someone who helped lead the development of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, I was incredibly impressed with the Athletics’ vision,” Cannon, co-founder and CEO of Harbinger Sports Partners, said in a statement. “The new ballpark will be more than a baseball stadium. It will become a year-round entertainment venue and another landmark destination on the Las Vegas Strip.”

Buying into MLB has been a long-term effort for Cuban in particular. He tried to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005, the Chicago Cubs in 2008, the Texas Rangers in 2010 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.

Cuban’s sports holdings are wide-ranging, but he is most known for his time running the Mavericks, where he still owns a minority stake. He sold the majority of the team to the Adelson family in 2023, a deal he has made fairly clear he regrets following the disastrous Luka Doncic trade.

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