The D'Backs' ownership structure includes the sale of
$145M in limited partnerships, according to Bill Muller of
the ARIZONA REPUBLIC, who added that cost overruns at Bank
One Ballpark have raised that total to $174M. D'Backs
investors made an early commitment to pay an additional 20%
of their original investment if the team needed more money.
Investors includes: Viad (the team's largest investor, with
$18M), Lynch Baseball ($9.6M), Suns F Danny Manning ($6M),
Circle K, AZ Public Service, Phelps Dodge, Bank One, and
celebrities including Billy Crystal, Louis Gossett Jr. and
singer Glen Campbell. D'Backs Managing General Partner Jerry
Colangelo is the majority owner of the team's General
Partnership, AZPB I Inc. The company has a 1% share in the
D'Backs, although its share increases to 25% when the team's
limited partners recover their initial investment. Colangelo
says he's invested $2.5M in the team, which includes 53%
ownership of the general partnership, and a percentage of the
Suns' $9M investment (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/29).
WHAT ABOUT BOB? The D'Backs played their first game at
Bank One Ballpark yesterday, an exhibition game against the
White Sox in front of 49,198. In AZ, Muller, Shaffer &
Ruelas write that "the mammoth stadium wasn't quite ready for
prime time. ... Some concession stands were closed and others
ran out of food. Some fans had trouble at the ticket
windows, and others had to wait in long lines. Outside, it
was apparent that workers weren't quite finished building the
ballpark" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/30). In Chicago, Fred
Mitchell says that BOB "has all the bells and whistles, but
not the quaintness of Camden Yards" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/30).
D'BACK NOTES: In AZ, David Casstevens wrote, "Now that
baseball is here, our city, our state, is truly 'big league'"
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/29). Also in AZ, Linda Helser wrote
under the header, "Diamondbacks May Be Best Pro Sports
Bargain In Valley" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/29). The D'Backs
will use oversized tickets on Opening Day. Included on the
ticket is a hologram that shows a picture of BOB with its
roof closed, then opened (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 3/30).
Colangelo was profiled in Sunday's N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE by Pat
Jordan, who wrote that "the centerpiece of Colangelo's plan
is the new stadium" (N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE, 3/29 issue).
