Blues and Kiel Center Owner Bill Laurie doesn't "have
an interest" in purchasing the Royals, according to Jeffrey
Flanagan of the K.C. STAR. Laurie, on speculation that he
may be interested in the team: "There's nothing to any of
that. I did talk to [Royals CEO] David Glass about
something else last week. But nothing about that" (K.C.
STAR, 11/14). In Boston, Peter Gammons reported that someone
put the Royals "up for auction" last Wednesday on eBay, with
the "top bid" being $5.07M as of Friday (BOSTON GLOBE,
11/14). This morning, the bid was up to $10M (THE DAILY).
TWINS SHOW PROFIT DUE TO REVENUE SHARING: In
Minneapolis, Sid Hartman reported that the Twins "showed a
profit" this season, though ticket-sale revenue "was down
nearly" $2M, from $11,540,908 to $9,697,334. Hartman added
that concessions revenue decreased $206,637 on gross revenue
of $1,554,241. Hartman: "The key factor for the Twins was
getting [$15M] in revenue-sharing" (STAR TRIBUNE, 11/14).
NEWS & NOTES: In Cincinnati, John Fay reported that for
the second straight year, Reds ticket prices are "going up."
Ticket prices will now range from $5 to $21(CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER, 11/13)...In L.A., Randy Harvey reported that
former player agent Dennis Gilbert "will deliver the
Yankees' side" in arbitration hearings with SS Derek Jeter
and P Mariano Rivera (L.A. TIMES, 11/12). In N.Y., Murray
Chass noted that Gilbert will "only do the Jeter and Rivera
cases if they go to hearings" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/14).
NEXT STOP, DC? Northern League President Miles Wolff
recently met with DC Mayor Anthony Williams about moving one
of its teams to DC for the 2001 season. Mike Veeck, whose
ownership group operates two teams in the league, said that
it would move one of its existing 16 franchises to RFK
Stadium and would "need to average" 10,000 fans "to break
even financially" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/13).
