Bucs trust spokesperson Steve Story, the man who negotiated
the sale of the team, said new team Owner Malcolm Glazer can
expect losses of up to $10-15M per year on his new investment.
In comments in this morning's ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, Story says
Glazer's agreement to assume the team's long-term liabilities
prevented the team from being sold to out-of-town interests. The
liabilities included deferred player contracts, signing bonuses,
pension, and other business expenses. Story: "We were facing a
real problem in that groups we felt were going to relocate the
team were offering in the neighborhood of $200-million and
agreeing to assume all liabilities. All of a sudden we were
looking at a deal of $175-million plus the assumption of
liabilities." Story maintains the $25M was a big difference "to
try to justify off-setting the risk of litigation from the NFL
for relocating the team." Story confirmed the possibility of
"substantial losses," adding that "something has to be done with
respect to building a new stadium" (Rick Stroud, ST. PETERSBURG
TIMES, 1/26).
