New Canaries owners talk stadium, scoreboard, supporting community

There are few things you should know about the new owners of the Sioux Falls Canaries.

They’re experienced business owners based in the Twin Cities.

They used to talk about owning a minor league team when they were in college together.

And they have big plans for the team in Sioux Falls – including a way they immediately plan to start supporting the community and a future vision that includes a new baseball stadium.

“The agenda is to increase the fan experience today and also tomorrow and for the next generation,” said Brian Slipka, founder of True North Equity Partners.

Slipka’s firm owns 14 companies with 600 employees across the Upper Midwest, including transportation companies, a precision machine shop, a business advisory and brokerage firm, and a capital finance company.

His Canaries co-owners, Anthony Albanese and Sam Swartz, are the co-founders of men’s grooming company Duke Cannon Supply Co. It’s a fast-growing brand with a big online following and is sold at Target, CVS, Carhartt, Duluth Trading Co. and Hy-Vee.

So why the Canaries?

Slipka was born in Sioux Falls, and he and his partners saw a unique opportunity in buying the team.

His co-founders saw “the opportunity to really market the Canaries in a better way, and I’m a traditional business guy but all about servant leadership in the community and giving back,” he said. “I’m trying to work to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Along with his wife, he is a co-founder of The Slipka Foundation, which focuses on education, community involvement and character-building. Through the foundation, the Slipkas provide scholarships to high school and college students, fund multiple park renovations and community improvements, and support character-building programs and leadership-development initiatives for youths and young adults.

He’s in the process of launching the Canary Community Fund, which will start with a nearly $250,000 investment to help support micro-scholarships for kids to participate in sports or other extracurricular activities.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” he said. “So many owners have hidden agendas and only care about the fan experience in their ballclub and don’t really care about the community. We want to give back. And I’m hoping the business community will rally around the Canary Community Fund and engage.”

He plans to work with school districts to identify kids in need and begin making contributions in time for the next school year.

In the meantime, though, there’s a baseball season ahead.

The team reports for camp this week, and the first game is May 18.

The new owners have invested in a $500,000 Daktronics scoreboard.

“It’s a sizable investment … but we decided we needed to make a difference,” Slipka said.

Other fan improvements will include a new kids zone that is “much more family-focused,” he said. “And then we’re refreshing some of the patio area and the beer garden area, the first base line and behind the third base grandstand.”

They’re also quadrupling the amount of Canaries merchandise available in the hope that people will decide it’s trendy and wear it around town.

And the new owners are looking toward a future that could include a new stadium. The next generation of fans likely won’t attend games at The Birdcage, Slipka said.

“That can take a lot of turns and directions. Some are yet to be determined, but all indications are that we’re going to be able to figure something out over the next couple years so it changes the narrative over who the Canaries are in the community.”