Ron Fowler

Ron Fowler

Fowler in 2014.
Born 1943/1944 (age 72–73)
Education University of St. Thomas '66[1]
Occupation Co-Owner/Executive chairman of the San Diego Padres

Ronald L Fowler (born 1943/1944)[2] is the executive chairman of the ownership group of the San Diego Padres franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB). He also serves as the CEO of Liquid Investments Incorporated, a San Diego beer distributorship.

San Diego Padres

Fowler was a member of a minority group that owned 49.32 percent of the Padres. The group, headed by then-Padres chief executive Jeff Moorad, attempted to buy the Padres from controlling owner John Moores for $530 million, but the deal fell through in April 2012. Fowler then replaced Moorad as the general partner of the minority group, and he served on the Padres executive committee.[3][4]

Fowler joined a new group to purchase the Padres that included four heirs to the O’Malley family—who owned the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise for five decades. Kevin and Brian O'Malley are the sons of former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and grandsons of Walter O'Malley, the owner who moved the Dodgers west from Brooklyn after the 1957 season. Peter and Tom Seidler are the nephews of Peter O’Malley.[4] MLB approved the $800 million sale,[4][5] which completed on August 28, 2012.[6] As much as $200 million of the sale price included the team's 20-percent stake in Fox Sports San Diego, a cable channel that pays the Padres annual fees as part of a $1.2 billion, 20-year agreement.[7] Fowler was named the ownership group's executive chairman and was designated to represent the Padres in all league meetings.[4][8] He became the first locally based control person of the team since founding owner C. Arnholdt Smith.[8]

Liquid Investments

Fowler is the chairman and CEO of privately held Liquid Investments Inc., the parent company of operating entities in California and Colorado. The investment group distributes Miller, Coors, Heineken and other beer brands and has annual sales exceeding $220 million.[7][1]

Other interests

Fowler owned the San Diego Sockers, an indoor soccer team that won 10 championships in 11 years. He also chaired San Diego's first task force that selected a site for what was eventually Petco Park, and he chaired the host committee for Super Bowl XXXVII held in Qualcomm Stadium in 2003.[8]

Philanthropy

Fowler and his wife Alexis have made major contributions to her alma mater, San Diego State University. The school's College of Business Administration was renamed the Fowler College of Business Administration in 2016 in response to the couple's $25 million endowment pledge to the business school. An earlier challenge donation that raised $10 million for the athletics center resulted in its being named the Fowler Athletic Center.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Fowler Business Challenge Competition". stthomas.edu. University of St. Thomas. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ Canepa, Nick (August 29, 2012). "Canepa: New owners don't tease with false promises". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ Bloom, Barry M. (April 6, 2012). "Moores to stay Padres' majority owner for now". MLB.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Center, Bill (August 16, 2012). "MLB approves sale of Padres". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Baseball approves sale of Padres". The Miami Herald. The Sports Network. August 16, 2012. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  6. ↑ Center, Bill (August 29, 2012). "Padres sale complete". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Grover, Ronald (August 16, 2012). "Beer distributor gets league OK to buy San Diego Padres". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 Bloom, Barry M. (August 16, 2012). "MLB owners approve sale of Padres". MLB.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  9. ↑ Hirsh, Lou (October 26, 2016). "Fowlers' Name to Adorn SDSU Business School After $25M Gift". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.