6 minSports
Padres introduce Kwanza Jones and José Feliciano after $3.9B control transfer
San Diego's new principal owners were formally introduced at Petco Park after MLB unanimously approved the change in control, with existing baseball leadership remaining in place.
SAN DIEGO — Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano were formally introduced Monday as the principal owners leading a new era for the San Diego Padres, three days after the franchise's controlling ownership transaction was completed.
The Aug. 24 news conference at Petco Park followed Major League Baseball's unanimous approval of the transfer on Aug. 17. Jones and Feliciano jointly lead the ownership group. Feliciano is the club's designated control person under MLB governance rules, while Jones is listed by the Padres as a principal owner.
The transaction valued the franchise at $3.9 billion, an MLB record for a control transfer. The sale moved control away from the Seidler family, which had overseen one of the most ambitious competitive periods in Padres history. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred credited the Seidler family with four postseason appearances in the previous six years and with strengthening the team's relationship with San Diego.
Jones and Feliciano said their objective is to build on that foundation rather than retreat from the expectation of competing. The Padres have never won a World Series, and both owners made a championship the central competitive goal of their opening remarks. Feliciano said winning the World Series is what the organization needs to do, while Jones spoke about the possibility of eventually winning more than one.
The owners also addressed the financial approach that will shape those ambitions. Feliciano said the Padres plan to live within their means and indicated that the definition of those means could change from year to year. He also said the club could be aggressive at certain moments while keeping the long-term health of the franchise in mind.
That position will be watched closely because the Padres became known for high payrolls and major player commitments under the late Peter Seidler. The new owners did not announce a payroll target Monday, nor did they describe an immediate restructuring of baseball operations.
Instead, the club is maintaining executive continuity. CEO Erik Greupner and president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller will continue to handle day-to-day leadership. That keeps the existing decision-making structure in place while the new owners establish their longer-term priorities.
Jones brings a varied background to the role. The Padres describe her as an investor, entrepreneur, executive and former NCAA Division I athlete. She is co-founder and CEO of the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative, the family office she and Feliciano established in 2014. Local public media has also noted the historic nature of her position: Jones is the first Black woman to become a majority owner of a Major League Baseball team.
Her introduction differed sharply from the standard ownership news conference. Jones wrote and recorded a Padres-themed song that played before she and Feliciano entered the room. She said parts of the song were inspired by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s recent home-run robbery in New York. The presentation underscored her background as a singer-songwriter and her intention to make the ownership role publicly visible.
Feliciano, a longtime baseball fan, brings a more conventional investment background. He is co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital Group and is a co-controlling owner of Chelsea F.C. He and Jones are also minority investors in the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their sports holdings mean the Padres are not their first exposure to professional franchises, but San Diego is the first MLB club they now lead.
The transfer also gives the Padres a new ownership structure at a point when the club is trying to convert recent competitive relevance into sustained success. The Seidler years raised expectations through spending, star acquisitions and repeated playoff appearances. Jones and Feliciano now inherit those expectations along with the financial obligations and roster decisions that come with them.
Monday's introduction established the broad policy: championship ambition, community engagement, continuity in baseball leadership and financial discipline intended to support the team's long-term health. The practical definition of that policy will emerge over time, particularly when the organization faces major decisions on roster investment and future payrolls.
For Padres fans, the transition is no longer pending. The ownership vote is complete, the transaction has closed and the new principals have made their first public commitments. Their tenure will ultimately be measured by how those commitments translate into decisions — and whether San Diego finally wins the championship that has remained out of reach since the franchise began play in 1969.
