Islanders Owner John Pickett said there was an "unusual
amount of interest" from potential bidders for the team,
according to Steve Zipay of NEWSDAY. Zipay reports that
"one interested party is" Marc Roberts, CEO of NJ-based rep
firm Worldwide Entertainment & Sports Corp. Roberts: "We're
looking to raise more than $165 million. There would be
about half a dozen investors, some from Long Island. I know
the team has to stay there" (NEWSDAY, 7/15). The N.Y.
POST's Johnson, MacIntosh & Gannon also report that Roberts
"has lined up five Wall Streeters to make a bid" (N.Y. POST,
7/15). Mets co-Owner Fred Wilpon, mentioned as a potential
bidder, "said he is not interested," according to Richard
Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. Wilpon: "From what we know,
we're not prospective owners at this time." The Marquee
Group President Bob Gutkowski said that he "may be
interested." Gutkowski: "You need a group with roots in the
area. I never liked the fact that [former team Owner John]
Spano lived in Dallas" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/15).
RIGHTING THE SHIP: In the aftermath of the Spano deal,
Sandomir writes that Pickett "must right a franchise wracked
by a man who flunked at finance, and gussy up the club quick
enough to sell to someone who will keep the team on Long
Island." Sandomir adds that the NHL "must determine how to
improve procedures that investigate the backgrounds of
prospective owners, because Spano apparently found ways to
exploit flaws in the league's defenses" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/15).
