José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones beamed while at a media conference at Petco Park on Monday, holding up their new personalized Padres jerseys as they begin their tenure as majority owners of the team. Jones choose the numbers #00 which she said symbolizes zero limits, while Feliciano chose #21 to honor fellow Puerto Rican All-Star Roberto Clemente.
The MLB approved the sale of the Padres to business partners and married couple Feliciano and Jones on Aug. 17. The official sale closes in the coming weeks. The Seidler family put the team up for sale in November, two years after the death of Peter Seidler.
Jones and Feliciano bring enthusiastic energy. Feliciano will be the second Latino principal owner of an MLB team and Jones will be the first Black woman to be a majority owner of an MLB team.
World Series on the mind
The billionaire couple has a long history investing in sports. Jones is a former NCAA Division I athlete. Feliciano is a co-controlling owner of Chelsea F.C. of the English Premier League. He joked he was missing watching the Chelsea F.C. game to be at the news conference. Jones and Feliciano are also minority investors in the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jones and Feliciano were clear their biggest goal is not only for the Padres to win, but to win a World Series.
“We need to win the World Series. It's that simple. That's what we're going to do,” Feliciano said.
Jones added the goal is for multiple World Series wins.
“But you know, we got to get to one first,” she said.
Long term goals
Jones and Feliciano mentioned several times they hope for a "decade’s long tenure" as owners. The vision they have for the Padres extends beyond the next couple seasons into building a strong legacy.
“We're thinking about this in not only next week or next series, we're thinking about this, you know, in seasons, decades," Feliciano said.
'We're all in'
Jones is a recording artist and has already written and recorded a song for the Padres inspired by Fernando Tatís Jr.'s catch during the team's Aug. 18 game against the New York Mets. Tatís prevented the Mets' Francisco Lindor from scoring a grand slam. The anthemic song will likely be played at future games.
For those concerned about the future of the Padres staying in San Diego, the couple said they are committed to the community here and are looking to put down roots somewhere in the county. They are house hunting and Jones said she's is open to recommendations while they get to know the county better and find a neighborhood that’s a good fit for them.
“We'll say, this is it. We're all in. We are all in for the Padres, all in for San Diego, all in for the Baja community!” she said.
“This is much more than a financial investment, this is an investment in a community,” Feliciano said.
The couple expressed a lot of excitement to take one their roles to lead the Padres into their new era and also become members of the community. Jones said that investing in the community is a "double bottom line," where gains aren’t only financial but also social.
