Allen & Co. Managing Dir Steve Greenberg, who in '14 was hired by the Indians to search for a minority owner, said that the pursuit "has narrowed" and Indians Chair & CEO Paul Dolan's goal to bring in someone to ease his financial burden and add capital "could be finalized by the end of the year," according to Tom Withers of the AP. Greenberg "did not identify the group or what percentage of the team it would purchase." He said, "We're in the bottom of the seventh inning. It's not over yet.'' Withers noted Dolan "has no intention of selling the majority share of the Indians." When asked if an infusion of capital will alter the Indians' philosophy in building their roster, Greenberg said, ''I don't think it's going to be that kind of a game changer. ... What I do think it does, however, is broaden the base of ownership. If there are years where you lose a little bit of money, it's not as stressful and you don't feel the need to trim payroll in August and September or July if you're out of the pennant race because you're not writing the whole check" (AP, 10/8). In Cleveland, Zack Meisel notes the Indians drew just 1,388,905 fans to Progressive Field this season, the "lowest figure in the ballpark's 22-year history" and second-to-last in MLB. Last year, when the Indians also finished 29th in attendance, the team drew 18,428 fans per contest. The club has ranked "in the bottom three in attendance in each of the last four years" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/9).
