The WASHINGTON POST's Leonard Shapiro examined the
changing face of pro team ownership in a Business section
cover story on Sunday under the header, "For More Owners,
It's A Sideline." Shapiro noted a number of new NFL owners
have earned their fortunes in other lines of work and "still
devote most of their time and energy to their vast business
empires." Ravens Owner Art Modell: "Now the price of poker
has gone up, and everything is different. The value of
everything has skyrocketed, causing a different kind of
owner to come in. Don't get me wrong. They care about the
game, but they also need the outside revenue from their
other businesses, and those businesses occupy a lot of their
time." But one NFL owner noted the large amount of debt
service Daniel Snyder will have on his $800M bid for the
Redskins and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium: "I don't know how
they'll make money in Washington, even if their revenue [is]
right up there with the highest in the league. You do not
make enough to service a $500 million loan. Maybe they know
something the rest of us don't." Modell: "If you have no
debt, this can be a very good business. If you have debt,
it's a costly way to operate. Snyder will have a tremendous
debt. But he'll also have enormous parking and concession
revenue and luxury seats to help him get it down. ... Two or
three things motivate today's owner and one of the biggest
is ego. Snyder probably got more recognition in The
Washington Post in the last month than he would have gotten
in 50 years" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/23).
NEW RICH KIDS: Univ. of OR Warsaw Sports Marketing
Center Dir Rick Burton, on young owners in sports: "Younger
people are going to look at it [buying teams] because sports
are the entertainment industry today. We are changing media
ages." The Bonham Group President Dean Bonham: "We could
see sports leagues changing in terms of their attitudes and
their philosophical approaches to the games. In the case of
the NHL, new owners could help to solve their problems like
spiraling costs" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/23).
