Commitment and fan engagement are the two major themes for new Lexington Legends owner Nathan Lyons.
We spoke with Nathan to hear about his connection to our city (he lives in Nashville — hey, NASHtoday) + what we can expect as he takes over our hometown minor league baseball team.
Congratulations on the purchase of the Lexington Legends.
Thank you. It’s exciting for us as well, and something we’ve been working on for a while. We love the city of Lexington, it’s one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Being in Nashville, it’s easy to get there, and my wife is from southern Kentucky as well.
What’s your connection to baseball?
I grew up in a baseball family. My cousins, brothers, uncles, and my dad — we all played in college. I had an uncle, Barry Lyons, who played in the major leagues in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Do you have any short-term or long-term goals for the team + stadium?
Right now, we’re working behind the scenes. We have a lot of work to do — both within the organization and with the stadium. But our full intent, and our full commitment, is to keep baseball in Lexington long-term. I do know that we’ve already engaged local partners to help guide us with updates and improvements to the fan experience + amenity area. And while I don’t have any details yet, I will say, we are completely committed to keeping baseball in Lexington.
As we look into this new chapter for the Lexington Legends, what would you say to the community of Lexington?
We love the city of Lexington + we think there’s a huge opportunity. We feel like the city is a great sports town, and that’s not just basketball. Our goal is to provide a great family activity in the summer, but also for young professionals and adults as well. Our focus is just that, how can we make the fan experience better? And how can we get the city to support us and continue to come back?
Are there any teams that you can point to that you have seen do a good job with fan engagement?
The Nashville Sounds. The stadium is off downtown, but they’ve done an incredible job with the fan experience. It’s ultimately a show, and they’re doing a wonderful job there. And the Huntsville (Rocket City) Trash Pandas. They’ve done an excellent job of fan engagement there. Those are two great examples of well-run organizations.
What about life outside of Legends baseball?
We are in real estate development — both residential and commercial. (Nathan is the founder of Vintage South) But love baseball, love sports. We did something similar a couple of years ago, here in Middle Tennessee. We acquired a golf club [Towhee Club] that needed some improvements. And now that we’re in year two and a half there, the change that has happened has been tremendous. And while golf and baseball have a lot of differences, we do see some similarities. We have a lot of work to do, but we’re excited to get started.
And while there are no big announcements or changes to make right now, Nathan did say we could expect some news before the end of this year. Think of it like a holiday present.
