Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner is dead at 97.
The team’s Twitter feed announced his death “with great sadness” Monday.
“The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved — and with it bringing a championship home for the first time since 1924,” the Nationals wrote.
The Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in a thrilling 2019 World Series.
Lerner was born in Washington D.C. on the day the Washington Senators lost the 1925 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates. A year earlier, the Senators defeated the New York Giants to become the champions of professional baseball. Both teams later relocated.
He made a fortune in real estate before paying $450 million for the Nationals in 2006, which is a year after the team, formerly the Montreal Expos, moved to the nation’s capital. Forbes puts the Nationals’ worth at $2 billion, making it baseball’s 12th most valuable franchise. The Houston Astros ranks 13th.
Lerner Enterprises built nearly 30,000 properties in the Washington D.C. area, according to the Washington Post. Lerner supervised the construction of the 41,300-capacity Nationals Park, which opened in 2008. His company counts Chelsea Piers among its partnerships.
The billionaire businessman died from pneumonia in his Chevy Chase, Md., home, the Post reported.
Brooklyn native Ted Leonsis, whose Monumental Sports & Entertainment company owns the Washington Capitals hockey team and Washington Wizards basketball squad, honored his fellow-franchise builder Monday.
“The Lerner name is impeccable everywhere,” Leonsis said in a tweet. “Will never be another like Mr. Ted Lerner.”
The Nationals and Mets meet Feb. 26 in Port St. Lucie, Fla., for the second day of Spring Training.
