Druckenmiller Would Not Move Steelers If He Acquires Ownership
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Potential Steelers Investor Says He
Would Want To Keep Team In Pittsburgh |
Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Capital Management Chair Stanley Druckenmiller Thursday acknowledged he is interested in acquiring the Steelers from the Rooney family and said "any resolution involving me will guarantee the team remains in Pittsburgh," according to Dan Fitzpatrick of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Druckenmiller in a statement said, "I am more than aware how uniquely important the Steelers are to the city." Druckenmiller has talked to "both sides of the Rooney family" -- Steelers Chair Dan Rooney, who wants to buy out his other four brothers and become majority owner of the team, and the brothers, who hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. to "evaluate offers for their shares." Druckenmiller: "My primary objective is to do what is in the best [interest] of the Pittsburgh Steeler franchise, the fans, the city of Pittsburgh, the Rooney and McGinley families and the [NFL]." Fitzpatrick reports Druckenmiller is "not the only well-heeled investor with an interest in the Steelers." A source said that a "prominent out-of-town family has also contacted the Rooneys." The source said the family is "huge" and "bigger than anybody in Pittsburgh." A different source said that the four Rooney brothers "are dealing only" with Druckenmiller (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 7/11). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Futterman & Wilke cite a source who indicated that Druckenmiller and the four brothers have discussed a "tentative price, pending an analysis of the team's books, of about $800[M] in its current state as a C Corporation." Druckenmiller's bid, which has not been submitted, would "likely be all cash, buying out all owners except Dan Rooney, who would continue to run the Steelers and retain his 16% stake" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/11). But Druckenmiller's statement "did not say whether any potential deal" would include retaining Dan Rooney or his son, Art Rooney II, as "day-to-day managers" of the team (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/11).
BROTHERS IN ARMS: The AP's Alan Robinson reported Art Rooney Jr. "may decide if the team stays in the Rooney family's control." Art Rooney Jr. said that his three other brothers who do not live in Pittsburgh -- Pat, John and Tim -- are "loyal Steelers supporters who dislike being part of any possible disruption of the Rooney family's ownership." Art Rooney Jr: "We bleed black and gold." He added the current ownership tension is "sad" (AP, 7/10).
STRONG SIDE SUPPORT: Former Ravens Owner Art Modell said, "Dan is one of the best owners ever. His record on the field speaks for itself. Beyond that, he has been invaluable to the NFL, especially in the last 10 to 15 years. He never turns down an assignment from the commissioner or his fellow owners. His work behind the scenes with the league office, the other owners and the [NFLPA] is a key to the NFL success story." Modell added, "If (Dan) does sell, he will be missed immensely. He's a consensus builder and very effective leader in his style" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 7/11).
IT'S ALL A BUSINESS: Pittsburgh-based author and historian Jim O'Brien: "I don't think anybody that understands sports and the business of sports would panic, but I think people are understandably comfortable with the Rooneys" (USA TODAY, 7/11). In Pittsburgh, Gorman & Prisuta write professional football is "becoming a business of billionaires, and the family-oriented ownership groups that once ran the NFL have to overcome obstacles such as estate taxes when transferring controlling interests." It is an "issue that many longtime NFL owners will eventually have to address." The key is for family-oriented teams to "find loopholes in the transference of NFL ownership, which has allowed the Mara and Tisch families to maintain control of the [Giants], and the [Bears] to remain in the Halas/McCaskey families" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/11).
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