Dodgers Owner Peter O'Malley tells T.J. Simers in an
L.A. TIMES front-page feature that his team will be sold in
the next two months. Sources within the NFL said "signs
point to a corporate deal with Fox Sports and Rupert Murdoch
that could fetch" $400M for all the baseball properties that
O'Malley owns (L.A. TIMES, 5/12). NEWSDAY's Jon Heyman also
reports that News Corp. and Fox TV are "close to completing
a record-breaking deal to buy the marquee franchise" for at
least $350M. One source told Heyman the deal was "finalized
late Saturday night," but another source said the deal could
be completed in the next couple of weeks. Heyman: "That
source said the only possible holdup, which was not expected
to stall the deal for long, involved O'Malley's emotional
attachment to the team." Another source added "there was a
disagreement over the future role of Dodgers general manager
Fred Claire. ... But that issue is not considered a major
obstacle" (NEWSDAY, 5/12). In L.A., Mike Downey, on reports
of a possible sale to Murdoch: "Could be worse. Could be
Larry Flynt ... The best news is, it's Fox, not NBC ... at
least we'll always know the score of the ballgame" (L.A.
TIMES, 5/12).
O'MALLEY'S DISAPPOINTMENT: In today's L.A. TIMES report
by T.J. Simers, O'Malley talks at length on how the city's
"rebuff of his plan to build a professional football
facility next to Dodger Stadium was a tremendous setback
that figured significantly" in his decision to sell the team
on January 6. O'Malley: "I must tell you I was extremely
disappointed when we were asked to shelve our ideas."
Simers: "For months O'Malley had spent as much as 80% of his
working days on football. Associates said he had become
enthralled with the NFL while tiring of baseball's labor
problems and spiraling costs of doing business." There was
speculation that O'Malley would sell the Dodgers and look to
bring football back to L.A., but "that now appears unlikely,
if not impossible. But there is still a strong feeling in
NFL circles that the Dodger Stadium site will eventually
house a football stadium--maybe even a dual-purpose stadium.
... That likelihood would increase, NFL sources said, if
Murdoch buys the team because of his close relationship with
the league" (L.A. TIMES, 5/12).