New Padres Owner John Moores and CEO Larry Lucchino held a
news conference to speak on the state of the franchise. Their
$80M purchase of the team was approved on December 22, and they
discussed what the future holds for "their small-market team."
Moores said he has no intention of moving the team; he will hold a
consulting position with the team and attend home games as "often
as possible." Lucchino, who will run the day-to-day operations,
said the club will "renew efforts to market the Padres in Mexico,
and talked about making Jack Murphy Stadium more "user-friendly
for Spanish speaking patrons." Moores on buying the team during
the strike: "I was a little nervous, frankly. ... But if I thought
there was going to be a lot of fallout, I wouldn't be here"
(Buster Olney, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/13). The two received
high marks from columnist Tom Cushman: "If Moores and Lucchino
deliver as well as the personalities project, a pennant should
soon be flapping atop a Mission Valley flagpole" (Tom Cushman, SAN
DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/12).
