Mandalay Baseball Properties, the owner of Erie SeaWolves, has agreements in place to sell four of its five Minor League Baseball teams.

The SeaWolves are next on the list to be sold, the company's CEO has confirmed.

In April 2013, Bloomberg News reported that Seaport Capital LLC, the majority owner of Mandalay Baseball, would divest from its holdings in minor league franchises.

At the time, it appeared the company might simply sell its share of Mandalay Baseball Properties.

However, Mandalay Baseball CEO Art Matin said Monday that Mandalay Baseball "will essentially go away, as currently constructed, after all five franchises are sold and a proper corporate wind-down period."

Mandalay Baseball has completed the sale of the Dayton Dragons and the Frisco RoughRiders, and Matin said that deals are in place to sell the Oklahoma City RedHawks and the company's share of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Seaport Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, is ready to get out of the baseball business, Matin said.

"They have been invested in the minor league portfolio for more than a decade and decided it was time to realize on that investment," he said. "Things have gone very well with each of our teams; we expect more of the same with Erie."

Mandalay owns 100 percent of the SeaWolves, and Matin said there is no timetable for a sale to be completed. Mandalay officials visited Erie late in the season, and prospective buyers were in attendance at Jerry Uht Park at different points this past season.

Matin would not comment on how much the SeaWolves were worth or how much Mandalay was seeking in the sale. He said he could not provide information on potential buyers, including whether any have local ties to Erie.

The future of the SeaWolves franchise in Erie would depend on who buys the franchise.

The SeaWolves were at the center of relocation rumors in 2011 and 2012 when Ottawa was searching for a minor league team.

The rumors subsided in April when SeaWolves president Greg Coleman announced a two-year extension in their player development contract with the Detroit Tigers and a two-year extension with the Erie County Convention Center Authority to stay at Jerry Uht Park. Both deals run through the 2016 season and could make the franchise more attractive to a potential owner.

"Those agreements are in good standing, and any prospective buyer would view the lease and player development contract with the Tigers through the 2016 season as important assets," Matin said. "The Tigers have been great partners since we've been involved with the team. We have a very good relationship with the Erie County Convention Center Authority, and we are well aware they are focused on having a team in Erie for the long term."

Matin said that a possible buyout of those contracts would be a decision for the SeaWolves' future owner to make.

The SeaWolves narrowly missed the 2014 Eastern League playoffs and finished with a season attendance of 209, 299, which is an increase of 2,528 from last year. Erie ranked 11th out of 12 Eastern League teams in attendance, with league champion Binghamton in last place at 171,279. Richmond had the top attendance in the league at 418,147.

"We are pleased with the progress the SeaWolves staff, led by Greg Coleman, has made with the franchise over the past few seasons," Matin said. "We've received excellent support from our sponsors and have grown the number of companies who see the SeaWolves as an attractive way to reach their market. We have great fans that support the team, and we really appreciate their support."

The SeaWolves are one of two Erie franchises for sale. Sherry Bassin, the Erie Otters' managing partner and general manager, recently said that he was involved in talks with two groups interested in buying the Ontario Hockey League franchise. One of the groups has Erie ties.

TOM REISENWEBER can be reached at 870-1707 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNreisenweber. Read the Extra Innings blog at GoErieBlogs.com/extra-innings.