Mark Cuban has officially entered Major League Baseball ownership after Harbinger Sports Partners, the investment firm he co-founded, acquired a minority stake in the Athletics, marking the firm’s first investment in a professional sports franchise as the club prepares for its landmark relocation to Las Vegas.
The financial terms of the transaction and the size of the stake were not disclosed. However, the investment represents a significant milestone for Cuban, who has pursued ownership opportunities in Major League Baseball for more than two decades, having previously explored bids for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Founded in 2025, Harbinger Sports Partners focuses on acquiring minority interests in premium sports franchises across North America. Cuban serves as General Partner and President alongside founder and Chief Investment Officer Rashaun Williams, a minority owner of the NFL‘s Atlanta Falcons. The leadership team also includes Steve Cannon, Vice Chairman of AMB Sports and Entertainment, and former MLB Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Mariner as Managing Partner.
The acquisition comes at a defining moment in the Athletics’ history as the franchise continues its transition from Oakland to Las Vegas. The club is currently playing the second of three planned seasons in West Sacramento, California, before moving into a new US$2 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, which is scheduled to open for the 2028 MLB season.
John Fisher will remain the Athletics’ majority owner and continue overseeing the development of the new stadium, one of the most ambitious venue projects in North American sport. The organisation said Harbinger’s investment strengthens its ownership group as it enters the next phase of its long-term growth strategy.
“We are very pleased to welcome Harbinger Sports Partners as an investor in the Athletics,” the team said in a statement. “The experience of their principals across sports, media, and entertainment, combined with their long-term perspective, makes them a valuable addition to our ownership group as we work to build the future of the franchise in Las Vegas.”
For Harbinger, the investment extends beyond acquiring an equity stake in an MLB club. The firm views the Athletics as part of a broader opportunity created by Las Vegas’ emergence as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports and entertainment markets.
“Las Vegas represents one of the greatest sports investment opportunities of our generation,” Williams said in a statement. “We’re not simply investing in a baseball franchise. We’re investing in a city that has fundamentally changed the economics of professional sports. Our conviction is simple. The next decade of sports ownership will look very different than the last. We believe Las Vegas will sit at the centre of that transformation, and Harbinger intends to be one of the firms helping shape its future.”
That sentiment is shared across Harbinger’s leadership. Steve Cannon, who previously played a key role in the development of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, believes the Athletics’ new home will become a major destination beyond baseball.
“As someone who helped lead the development of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, I was incredibly impressed with the Athletics’ vision,” Cannon 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.”
Harbinger has positioned itself as a long-term investor in professional sports, targeting minority ownership opportunities across MLB, the NBA and the NFL. According to Jonathan Mariner, the firm believes MLB franchises continue to offer strong long-term value, supported by rising franchise valuations, evolving media rights and the league’s commercial growth.
The transaction also highlights the continued evolution of Las Vegas into one of the premier destinations for sports investment. Over the past decade, the city has attracted franchises across the NFL, NHL and WNBA, welcomed Formula One, and is now preparing to become Major League Baseball’s newest market. The Athletics’ relocation is widely regarded as another transformative step in establishing Las Vegas as a year-round global sports and entertainment hub.
For Cuban, the investment adds another chapter to an already extensive sports ownership portfolio. After selling his controlling interest in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in 2023 while retaining a minority stake, the billionaire entrepreneur has now secured his first ownership position in Major League Baseball.
For the Athletics, meanwhile, the arrival of Harbinger Sports Partners provides both additional capital and experienced strategic investors as the franchise moves towards one of the most significant relocations in modern American professional sports.
