Minneapolis lawyer Clark Griffith said Friday that he
and other investors "are poised" to offer $86M in cash to
buy the Twins, according to Jay Weiner of the Minneapolis
STAR TRIBUNE. Griffith, whose group includes his father,
former Twins Owner Calvin Griffith, as well as publisher
Vance Opperman and St. Paul Saints President Mike Veeck,
among others, characterized his bid as a $134M total offer
because it would include the assumption of $48M in "certain
liabilities." However, Weiner wrote that "it appears" that
the offer "won't get a serious look" from Twins Owner Carl
Pohlad and his family. Pohlad's son, Bob Pohlad: "We've got
the agreement with [NC business exec Don] Beaver" (STAR
TRIBUNE, 11/22). Columnist Sid Hartman: "Pohlad won't sell
the team to Clark Griffith. There isn't any love lost
between Pohlad and the Griffith family" (STAR TRIBUNE,
11/23). Twins execs predict "at least" a $3M increase in
operating losses for the '98 season in MN should the team
agree to move to NC in '99. The team estimates it lost an
estimated $8-10M in '97 (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/24).
