Oakland Ballers: Fans Can Now Purchase Stock Online

Steve Tuck and his kids Andrew & Teddy show their excitement at a Ballers game at Oakland's Raimondi Park.Photo byphoto by Paul Kuroda for The SF Standard

As the Oakland Ballers fight for a playoff berth in the Pioneer Baseball League, they are allowing their fans to take ownership of the team. The Oakland Ballers set up a website for fans to actually buy a part of the team. Even though they are a non-profit corporation, the Green Bay Packers sold stock to their fans at various times in the past. They now have over 537,000 investors and are publicly owned. The Ballers are not a non-profit and look to do the same on a smaller level.

The team is also going to create a represantive out of one of the fans who gets voted in.

The team's goal is to get $1.235 million, and they have already reached $474,749. The stocks are worth. 17 cents each, and the lowest offer they will allow for an investor is $170. They have 7 tiers of investors, with Tier 7 being sold for $25,000. There are perks at every level, including even going to the owner's meetings.

The Ballers, from the start, have brought positive vibes in a very short time. They have beautified the area and the spirit of the Oakland fans, and all of their volunteer work has touched a lot of people.

Where sometimes it takes years to gain the trust of the fans, the Ballers have gone out of their way to support the city of Oakland. Instead of a relationship of insecurity and weakness constantly trying to appease owners that really don't want to be in there, the Ballers are empowering the fans and bringing new pride and security to Oakland sports.