Real estate entrepreneur and Velocity Companies CEO, Brandon Bellamy, has become the only Black majority owner in professional baseball.

This development comes after unanimous approval by the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for Bellamy to purchase a new club expansion in Gastonia, NC, reports QCityMetro.

According to Velocity Companies’ website, Bellamy is a 30-year real estate veteran with over $500 million in office, retail, and residential projects. The ballpark, which has not yet been named, will be Bellamy’s first sports development. Once completed, the project will be a 5,000-seat multi-purpose ballpark in Gastonia’s FUSE District.

Velocity Companies will not only run the facility but own the team and develop the surrounding area, reports Baseball America. The team will be a part of the Atlantic League and start playing once construction is complete in Spring 2021.

“The opportunity for us to bring multi-family residential, to bring retail and to bring office (space), potentially, to go along with family-friendly fun that comes with minor league baseball is a win for everybody,” Bellamy said to Baseball America. “I think it will be catalytic to their downtown development.”

Brandon Bellamy

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