The Listowel Legionnaires have a new owner.
Alan McArthur has purchased the baseball club and its junior team from longtime owner Chris Kurz. In a media availability on Wednesday, May 29, Kurz detailed why it felt like the right time for him to pass the torch.
"The timing was perfect. Alan and I were talking about this for a couple of months, and he is the perfect guy to do it and the timing worked great. I've got some new things in my life that are happening and I didn't feel I could give it my best, time-wise, moving forward and best effort moving forward, and I'm really happy that Alan's gonna steer the ship," Kurz shared.
Kurz says as he reflects back, there are many great memories, including winning a championship in 2019.
"Incredible memories, especially at our ball park here in Listowel, it's such a special place and has been for a long time. Meeting so many cool people, within our own organization, our opponents. I've made some friendships with managers and players of other teams and that's really special. I still get messages asking me what ball park I'm going to this year on a road trip, because these guys, they genuinely care and it's easy to see why they're successful in life and why they have so much fun," added Kurz.
McArthur discussed his gratitude toward Kurz, and his ambitions for the club moving forward.
"It's probably 30 years of a dream, doing this, and 'Kurzy' has really stepped up and I truly appreciate the mentorship that he's gonna provide and has provided in taking over the team. Honestly, you're probably not gonna see a whole lotta changes off the bat, I'm just gonna try and build on the foundation that he's created and we still wanna support the legion and Listowel Minor Ball, so nothing is gonna change there," McArthur stated.
As he now takes over, McArthur adds that he has some other goals in mind.
"My biggest goal is to support them personally, I'm here for the coach and the players. I wanna see them win and I'll be here for them when they don't. I wanna implement everything I can that will help them succeed. I'm really here just to build the community aspect within the team and around the team," McArthur said proudly.
Kurz will remain on for now with the team to help with the transition. You can follow the Legionnaires season and the entire Midwestern Ontario Senior Baseball League here: https://mosbl.ca/.