The Ackerley Group, parents of the Sonics and Full
House Sports & Entertainment, "is considering an ownership
role" in the Marlins, according to Antonio Fins in the Fort
Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL. Team President Don Smiley
"confirmed" that he has met with the group. Smiley: "We
have had conversations and that's all I can say about it."
The company has "an established business presence" in South
FL, where it has billboard operations in Dade, Broward and
Palm Beach counties (Fort Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 11/21).
In Miami, Jackson & Arrarte write that if Ackerley buys an
interest in the team, "he might try to buy a local TV or
radio station," as the group already owns nine broadcast TV
stations in NY, CA, CO and WA, as well as three Seattle
radio stations (MIAMI HERALD, 11/21). Meanwhile, Smiley,
who is trying to put together a group to buy the Marlins, is
profiled by Phillips & Morgan in the MIAMI HERALD under the
header "He's Dismantling Marlins In Hope Of Saving Team."
Phillips & Morgan: "[A]s president he's ... presided over a
team that finds itself in a financial black hole and has
quickly turned a dream season into a public relations
nightmare. But Smiley believes he can succeed where
[Marlins Owner Wayne] Huizenga, the man who made him rich,
could not. His faith is largely based on one uncertain
hope: That without Huizenga, public and political resistance
to a stadium will ease" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/21).
