Padres Vice Chair & CEO Jeff Moorad "has targeted Jan. 1 as the day he'd like to have a new TV deal for his team," and Fox is "believed to be the new destination for Padres games," according to John Maffei of the NORTH COUNTY TIMES. Moorad said, "We expect that next year's rights fee would be significantly higher, somewhere in the mid-20s compared to $15 million this year. Obviously, there are revenue-sharing issues that would come into play." Maffei notes one of the hangups "is the Dodgers and a lawsuit involving Fox," while another is that the Padres' deal "may be too front-loaded" for MLB. After "eight years on XX Sports Radio, the Padres could also have a new radio home." The station "considers the Padres a valuable asset, but not at the $5.5 million per season that it was paying." Station officials are said to be "maxed out at a $2 million bid, with a revenue-sharing plan with the Padres after that." Padres President & COO Tom Garfinkel said that there "are three bidders, and there have been rumors that an FM station is among them," with attention turning to KBZT-FM, an alternative rock station owned by Lincoln Financial Media. Maffei notes for it to "work as the Padres' station, it would have to convert to an all-sports format, a huge undertaking." Lincoln Financial "owns sports stations in Atlanta, Miami and Denver" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 9/30).
STATE OF THE CLUB: Moorad said that the club's player payroll next season "will be between $53 and $55 million." Moorad added he is "strongly opposed" to moving in the fences at Petco Park. He said that the next improvement to the ballpark "could be a new video board, although that won't happen before the 2012 season." Moorad indicated that his group's "completion of the purchase of the Padres from John Moores could be finalized ahead of the 2014 deadline." Moorad has said that the goal of his ownership group "is to financially break even every season," but he noted that the Padres "will lose $1.6 million this year" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/30).
