Biggest question with Walton-Penner’s Rockies ownership remains

Greg Penner met with the media Tuesday for the first time since he and his wife, Carrie Walton Penner, bought a 40% stake in the Colorado Rockies back in April — and the biggest question was asked, albeit not answered.

The question being: do the Denver Broncos owners have a path to control the Rockies as part of their deal to buy their large stake in the baseball franchise?

“We’re focused on being supportive minority partners,” Penner said Tuesday from the Broncos’ new training facility, which Rockies majority owner and CEO Dick Monfort toured. “The Monforts are in full control and we’ll do what we can to support them.”

Walton-Penner are currently minority shareholders in the Rockies with Dick Monfort remaining the lead voice but this move gave Penner Sports Group a significant chunk of the MLB club as their sports involvement becomes more than just a one-team operation, but a portfolio. And it’s a busy and growing one at that considering the Broncos’ new training center is soon to be joined by a multi-billion-dollar privately funded downtown stadium.

At the time, it was reported that the Penners would not have any day-to-day involvement in the Rockies. Still, a lot of changes have been made to the organization going back before this acquisition was announced. Walker Monfort has taken a more prominent role and the team went out and hired Paul DePodesta and his team to run baseball operations.

Meanwhile, the cash from the Broncos owners was to help retire all remaining debt held by the Rockies, which could in turn help the boys of summer get some more talent into their nine.

“We are excited to expand our commitment to the Denver sports community through a minority partnership with the Colorado Rockies,” the Penners said in their April statement. “This investment from Penner Sports Group reflects our deep appreciation for what the Rockies mean to this region, the passion of their fans and our confidence in the future of the franchise.”

The question remains, will that future hold a change in majority ownership? Some have speculated that the looming labor stoppage which is expected to result in a lockout will likely have an impact on what Walton-Penner decides, especially what ramifications the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will bring.

It’s also worth noting that Dick is the more active voice of the brothers in charge of the Rockies. There’s a lot of family members involved — four listed (Dick, Charlie, Walker and Sterling) by the team in official positions and others with a lot of interest given their downtown land holdings — and some minority owners already there to consider. It’s hard to know which single individual actually has the most shares of the Rockies and how close the Broncos group is to that number or having the votes to make their voices most powerful.

For now, it seems Monfort and Penner are friends.

“Carrie and I have had a chance to get to know the Monforts in the four or five years we’ve been here and it came about in a series of breakfasts I’ve had with Dick two or three times a year. They were ready to bring on a partner and we couldn’t be more excited about doing something in the Denver market. Grew up baseball fans as well. Terrific fanbase, ballpark and we’re really pleased to join the ownership group there.”

Whether that partnership stays supportive — or eventually becomes something more — is the question that everyone who cares about baseball in Denver should keep asking.

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