DODGERS The ongoing OWNERSHIP Thread

TuborgP · Feb 27, 2012

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeoza...-and-johnson-groups-sent-to-mlb-for-approval/

Steve Cohen, Stan Kroenke, Jared Kushner and Magic Johnson are among the the bidders for the Los Angeles Dodgers that the Major League Baseball team and its investment bank, Blackstone, have approved to meet with baseball’s Ownership Committee about buying the team. The names of these groups were revealed by people very close to the sale process that did not have permission to speak publicly on the matter
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Three weeks ago there were 11 groups that had gotten past the first round. Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley pulled out several days ago, and real estate developer Rick Caruso dropped out three days ago. Today Michael Heisley, owner of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, and Tony Ressler, a minority owner in baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers, were eliminated by the Dodgers.
The L.A. Times is reporting that Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney, New York media executive Leo Hindery and the Beverly Hills-based real estate developer Alan Casden have also had their groups approved, although my sources did not mention their names among those submitted to
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TuborgP · Feb 27, 2012

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ar7XSFMXPns0.i4EXBB9uc4RvLYF?slug=ap-dodgerssale

Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley and Tony Ressler of the assets firm Ares Management are not being scheduled for interviews with the ownership committee, a person involved in the process said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is supposed to be confidential. The cuts first were reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Real estate developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre announced last week they were dropping out because McCourt was not including the parking lots surrounding Dodger Stadium in the sale. The parking lots could become a contentious issue for other bidders.
Several people familiar with the selection process, all speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the advancing groups are:
— Alan Casden, chief executive officer of the Beverly Hills real estate company Casden Properties;
— Steven Cohen, founder of the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors and one of the entities negotiating to purchase a minority stake in the New York Mets, and baseball and basketball agent Arn Tellem;
— Former Los Angeles Lakers star Johnson, former Atlanta Braves andWashington Nationals President Stan Kasten and Mark Walter, chief executive officer of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners;
— Leo Hindery, managing partner of the private equity firm InterMedia Partners and former chief executive officer of the YES Network, and Marc Utay, managing partner of the private equity firm Clarion Capital Partners;
— Kroenke, whose family properties own the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, the NBA’sDenver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, and who is majority shareholder of Arsenal in the English Premier League;
— Jared Kushner, publisher of The New York Observer and son-in-law of real estate developer Donald Trump;
— Stanley Gold, chief executive officer of Shamrock Holdings, the investment company of the family of the late Roy Disney.
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CapnTreee · Feb 27, 2012

TuborgP said: ↑

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ar7XSFMXPns0.i4EXBB9uc4RvLYF?slug=ap-dodgerssale
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Are any of these guys big enough fools to allow McCrook to keep the parking lots and land? Sure hope not...

LAdiablo · Feb 27, 2012

idts

CapnTreee said: ↑

Are any of these guys big enough fools to allow McCrook to keep the parking lots and land? Sure hope not...
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idts

irish · Feb 28, 2012

Just seven groups remain in the mix to purchase the Dodgers, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Jackson breaks down the list, which includes St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
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Dodgers bidders down to seven
By Tony Jackson
ESPNLosAngeles.com

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The list of potential owners or ownership groups vying to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers was whittled to seven on Monday, a list that still includes the group headed by Los Angeles Lakers legend and local philanthropist Magic Johnson and largely funded by Guggenheim Partners chief executive officer Mark Walter.

Also still in the mix, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity, are:

• St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke

• real-estate developer Alan Casden

• New York Observer publisher, real-estate mogul and Donald Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner

• a group headed by Shamrock Holdings president and CEO Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney

• a group headed by hedge-fund manager and SAC Capital Advisors founder Steven Cohen, which also includes longtime sports agent Arn Tellem

• a group headed by former YES Network chairman and chief executive Leo Hindery and Colony Capital chairman Tom Barrack.

Those seven entities, including each member of each group, will continue to be scrutinized by an on-going vetting process being conducted by Major League Baseball. Those candidates who remain at the end of that process will be submitted to baseball's ownership committee, then to the executive council, and finally, to the full ownership of the 29 other clubs. The ownership committee and executive council will either recommend or reject bidders -- with outgoing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt free to take any rejection to a mediator if he disagrees -- and any bidder who survives all the way to the vote of the full ownership must then receive a three-fourths approval (at least 23 teams).

There is no schedule for completing those steps, according to another source familiar with the process who spoke on condition of anonymity, but McCourt is required through his sale agreement with MLB to identify a buyer no later than April 1 and complete the sale no later than April 30. Because of that, the full ownership vote likely would need to be completed by mid-March to allow McCourt time to conduct what in effect would be an auction among all the groups that receive that three-fourth approval from full ownership.

Although the process remains officially open to additional bidders, it is so far along and so many hurdles must still be cleared that it's likely this is the final group.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

TuborgP · Feb 28, 2012

Just read something yesterday. The Dodgers only have 40 million coming this year from the existing media contract. Sorta explains why Ned was backloading contracts away from this year. Not sure about 2013 but we may not see a big jump in payroll until the New deal kicks in. The cost of buying the team is so much and with ticket sales unsure etc etc not sure how well 2012 cash flow is going to go.

BlueMouse · Feb 28, 2012

TuborgP said: ↑

I understand and feel what you are saying. Unfortunately fan/sports writer input seems to have had zero impact on anything so far. Is Frank a business man? Yes and a cut throat one at that. He is now negotiating with other cut throat businessmen who have a history of bringing bigger knives to the fight.
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I keep going back to this bottomline - Anyone with the money to buy this thing has to know what they are doing to some extent. And while I don't want Frank involved anymore, it will ultimately be the new owner's issue to deal with if they allow it.

TuborgP said: ↑

Again it is what they think and what are they willing to endure to get the media rights and that money flowing in. Remember as others have said it is no longer about the team but about money and media rights and money and development. Once you sign a 20 year media deal for say some where between 3.5-4 billion that money comes in whether you have a 100 million or 160 million payroll or whether you win 81 games or 96. From the Dodger sale forward the financial dynamics of some teams are going to be changing. Arte Moreno chose to take 24 million of new media money a year to sign Pujols. He didn't have to!
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Are you sure? There was a huge discrepancy with the new FOX deal Frank was trying to sign, some estimating it's value at $1.5 billion and some saying it was worth $4 billion. I always assumed the discrepancy was because there was a performance based clause in the contract. I would imagine before signing a contract worth that amount of money and time, there would be some incentive in the contract based on wins, standings, viewer share, or all of the above.

TuborgP · Feb 28, 2012

BlueMouse said: ↑

I keep going back to this bottomline - Anyone with the money to buy this thing has to know what they are doing to some extent. And while I don't want Frank involved anymore, it will ultimately be the new owner's issue to deal with if they allow it.

Are you sure? There was a huge discrepancy with the new FOX deal Frank was trying to sign, some estimating it's value at $1.5 billion and some saying it was worth $4 billion. I always assumed the discrepancy was because there was a performance based clause in the contract. I would imagine before signing a contract worth that amount of money and time, there would be some incentive in the contract based on wins, standings, viewer share, or all of the above.
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Frank was willing to sign a very Fox friendly contract because he owed his soul to them and need the advance to keep the team financially afloat. It was a non competitive deal and the new owner will be able to negotiate. The Angels got a lucrative contract and it is because of their market size and audience viewership. So all the fans who boycotted the game and watched it on tv just upped the viewership numbers for their media value. Remember Blackstone has successfully set up a potential dog fight for the new media rights and that means money. Frank was overplaying the value of his new Fox contract and Bud was minimizing it to say no. The truth was somewhere between and probably close to the MLB number unless you are prone to trusting Frank.

TuborgP · Feb 28, 2012

http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-04-27/general/30800146_1_frank-mccourt-embattled-owner-veto

April 27, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers held an impassioned and defiant meeting with the media Wednesday, announcing that the head of Major League Baseball had vetoed a planned television-rights deal worth roughly $3 billion while arguing that he’s being treated unfairly.

Last week, Major League Baseball announced it would take over financial control of the Dodgers from Frank McCourt and would investigate its viability, after the team’s owner had secured a $30 million loan from News Corp.’s Fox TV network. MLB appointed J. Thomas Schieffer, a former Texas Rangers executive, to monitor operations for the Dodgers.

The embattled owner said he feels it’s “fundamentally wrong” for the league to veto a rights deal with Fox that would have pumped $300 million in new equity directly into the team and could have ensured its financial stability “over the next two decades
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http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2011/07/selig.html

July 22, 2011

MLB commissioner Bud Selig had an overflow of reasons for rejecting a proposed 17-year television rights extension between Fox and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, according to the 11-page June 20 letter Selig sent to McCourt. The letter was posted by the Los Angeles Times today.

"While any one of the factors identified below would alone give me serious pause," Selig wrote, "collectively ... they demonstrate overwhelmingly that the proposed transaction is neither in the long-term interests of the franchise nor consistent with the best interests of the game of baseball."

Selig noted that McCourt was rushing into the Fox deal because of his "desperate need for immediate cash" to address his and the Dodgers' financial problems, without waiting for the period starting on November 30, 2012 when he could solicit other, potentially more lucrative offers through competitive bidding. Selig notes the mega-deal that the Los Angeles Lakers struck for their TV rights through such a process.

"In fact, as your chief financial offcer told representatives of my office on April 5, 2011," Selig said, "you would not even be considering a media rights transaction at ths time were it not for the club's 'financial duress.' "
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TuborgP · Feb 28, 2012

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/08/sports/la-sp-angels-fox-tv-20111209

December 8, 2011

"It's sort of like the Mets versus the Yankees," says Adam Swanson, a media analyst with SNL Kagan. "You have fans on both sides of the fence. [Pujols] is going to draw more viewers and draw higher ticket sales. So the opportunities are there."

The Angels had the second-lowest local television ratings among major league teams last year, according to Sports Business Journal. In addition to the potential for high ratings with Pujols and the Angels, the new TV deal also gives Fox guaranteed programming and prevents Time Warner Cable from running the table with Southern California's top franchises.

"It sort of secures Fox for a little bit," Swanson said. "They don't have to worry about the team going somewhere else. And they have access, then, to a whole lot of content."

"Time Warner [Cable] is definitely putting their footprint on the L.A. market."

Fret not, Dodgers fans. The bidding between Fox and Time Warner Cable for the Dodgers' television rights is about to start, and the over-under is $4 billion.
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And with such low ratings the Angels got 3 billion.

However the Dodgers were barely better and the Angels now have Pujols so perhaps that's why Fielder was so important.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/07/11/Media/MLB-ratings.aspx?hl=mlb local ratings&sc=0

July 11, 2011

Two teams that have been in the news for the wrong reasons — the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are now in bankruptcy court, and the financially distressed New York Mets — have seen two of the biggest drops in MLB’s local TV ratings so far this season.

Both major-market teams have faced high-profile ownership controversies that appear to be affecting local viewer interest this season. Dodgers games on Prime Ticket have the third lowest local rating among all U.S. MLB teams (1.19), and Mets games on SportsNet New York have the seventh lowest mark (2.30).

But it’s the drop in ratings from last year for each team that is the most telling statistic. The Mets’ local ratings are down 29 percent from midseason last year; the Dodgers’ ratings are down 27 percent.

Only the Astros (down 34 percent on FS Houston) and Rays (down 37 percent on FS Florida and Sun Sports) have seen steeper local declines.

The Dodgers have struggled on the field this year, mired in last place in their division, and that surely has affected viewer interest. But just how far have they fallen? The team is in danger of being watched by fewer Los Angeles-area homes than Los Angeles’ second most popular NBA team. The Dodgers’ 67,000-home average is just above the 56,000

homes the Clippers averaged last season. By comparison, an average of 271,000 Los Angeles-area homes tuned in for Lakers games last season.
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So with time to improve the team and viewership a floor of 3 billion is reasonable because of the competition for the contract and the ceiling is to be determined but you can see how Fielder would have hurt. So fans the big boycott to drive Frank completely away is not attending the games or parking in the lot but to not watch the games until he is completely gone. Announcing that now could have the desired impact to make him sell the parking lots to keep the media bid possibilities high.

THINKBLUE · Feb 28, 2012

More disheartening chapters to the never ending saga

TuborgP · Feb 28, 2012

THINKBLUE said: ↑

More disheartening chapters to the never ending saga
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Hopefully soon to end, if the local media had a clue and discussed my above post and recommendation. A boycott not to watch the game would have been a jolt in the bid process a few months ago and perhaps it would have been clear that everything was for sale.

IBleedBlue15 · Feb 28, 2012

I don't want that Kroenke guy owning the team. He looks like a weisel. Plus, the Rams are awful and have been awful for years. I don't want some shitty NFL owner owning the Dodgers.

bestlakersfan · Feb 28, 2012

There is just NO WAY that any new owner shouldn't own the lots. Is the MLB and the fucking court retarded? WTF?!?!?!?!

This motherfucker needs to COMPLETELY get the fuck out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

irish · Feb 28, 2012

CapnTreee · Feb 28, 2012

IBleedBlue15 said: ↑

I don't want that Kroenke guy owning the team. He looks like a weisel. Plus, the Rams are awful and have been awful for years. I don't want some shitty NFL owner owning the Dodgers.
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Worse let us not forget that this was THE LA football team... If he wants fan support to own the Dodgers then let him move the fucking Rams back to LA! Otherwise I'm seeing the writing on the wall that he'd make St. Louis a two team town like NY or LA. Boo this...

And then there were six...

LAdiablo · Feb 28, 2012

Irish said: ↑

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i can watch this endlessly

CapnTreee · Feb 28, 2012

LAdiablo said: ↑

i can watch this endlessly
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funny I was just thinking that being drawn and quartered was more fitting... of course I don't have an animated .gif for that so I'll join you in leaving this on my screen for now...

IBleedBlue15 · Feb 28, 2012

CapnTreee said: ↑

Worse let us not forget that this was THE LA football team... If he wants fan support to own the Dodgers then let him move the fucking Rams back to LA! Otherwise I'm seeing the writing on the wall that he'd make St. Louis a two team town like NY or LA. Boo this...

And then there were six...
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LA football is all great and dandy but bottom line is that to get the Rams in LA, they'll need to play on Dodger Stadium grounds. FUCK that. That also means that he agrees to let Frank keep the lots. Dude just seems like a sly bastard that's going to fuck up the Ravine.

Here's an idea, if/when Dodger Stadium needs to be torn down, build the next stadium right next to it; like the Mets did. I can't imagine the Dodgers playing anywhere else than in the Ravine. Also, the dude is just as ugly as Aaron Harang.

CapnTreee · Feb 28, 2012

IBleedBlue15 said: ↑

LA football is all great and dandy but bottom line is that to get the Rams in LA, they'll need to play on Dodger Stadium grounds. FUCK that. That also means that he agrees to let Frank keep the lots. Dude just seems like a sly bastard that's going to fuck up the Ravine.

Here's an idea, if/when Dodger Stadium needs to be torn down, build the next stadium right next to it; like the Mets did. I can't imagine the Dodgers playing anywhere else than in the Ravine. Also, the dude is just as ugly as Aaron Harang.
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I'm all for keeping the Dodgers in the ravine... no worries

I'm also NOT in favor of ANY mixed use stadium which is why Dodger stadium rocks... its for the Dodgers. Period.

And we already distrust this guy because he currently owns the team that bailed on our fair city, admittedly with the help stupid c_nt Georgia Frontierre, and since he has not already immediately begun actions to return the team to LA, well then he's doubly not to be trusted. That's all we need is his midwestern soaked allegiance to compel him to move the Dodgers to St. Louis!!! Fuck that.

That he's fugly? I couldn't give a shit... but is his trophy wife hot? That is a better Q...

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