For the first time in 35 years, the Fredericksburg Nationals will have new ownership.

Art Silber, who purchased the franchise in 1990 when it was still known as the Prince William Cannons and played in Woodbridge, announced Monday a deal to sell the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings, a company that owns more than 40 of Minor League Baseball’s 120 affiliated clubs.

“We made a decision to sell the team in order to ensure its growth and continued vitality in our community,” the Silber family wrote in a letter directed to FredNats fans. “Due to a combination of family considerations, evolution of the industry and growth of the team, we made the determination that it was time to turn over the ownership to an entity that could ensure the great promise of this franchise for decades to come.”

The sale of the club does not impact the team’s name, location or affiliation with the Washington Nationals, who have sustained a relationship with it since 2005. Fredericksburg will continue to serve as the Nats’ low Single-A affiliate, per the terms of a 10-year agreement all minor league clubs signed with their major league counterparts in 2021 when the sport reorganized under Major League Baseball’s umbrella.

When Silber bought the franchise, it was an affiliate of the Yankees, playing at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. It would undergo several name and affiliate changes over the years, becoming the Potomac Cannons in 1999 while affiliating with the Cardinals and later Reds. When the Montreal Expos moved to D.C. in 2005, the Cannons were renamed the Potomac Nationals and began a long affiliation with the big league club that now played only 30 miles to the northeast.