A small group of Dodgers season-ticket holders, including the family of the late singer Frank Sinatra, filed paperwork yesterday in the club's ongoing bankruptcy case seeking to be recognized as an official committee. Having that committee would give fans a stake in the club's forthcoming reorganization, as well as obligate the Dodgers to pay their legal costs. The club's secured and unsecured creditors have their own committees in place. "We feel the season-ticket holders are the true stakeholders in the bankruptcy case and currently have no voice in the case," said Robbin Itkin, a L.A.-based attorney for Steptoe & Johnson LLP retained by the season-ticket holders. "The official committee of creditors does not adequately represent the interests of season-ticket holders; the committee represents trade creditors and other claimants seeking to maximize cash on their claims. ... The season-ticket holders are not focused on cash payments, but rather the preservation of the Dodgers." The season-ticket holders in the ad hoc group have had active accounts extending back as far as '58, when the team first arrived in L.A. from Brooklyn. The Dodgers said the fans' concerns were not directly relevant to the case. "Dodgers Tickets LLC intends to honor all of its agreements with season ticket holders," the club said in a statement. "Because the ticket holders' interests will not be affected by the Chapter 11 cases, there is no reason for the appointment of a ticket holders' committee" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
HALF EMPTY: Facility Merchandising Inc. President & CEO Milton Arenson, whose company handles merchandise sales for the Dodgers, yesterday testified that the team's turnstile count this season is "projected to be 2.2 million to 2.3 million." In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes if the Dodgers "attract 2.25 million people, they would play to 49.6% capacity." The "no-show rate -- the percentage of tickets bought but not used -- would be 25% based on current attendance." The Dodgers' no-show rate "was 17% two years ago" and 21% last year. The Dodgers are "on pace to sell fewer than 3 million tickets for the first time since 1992, when they lost 99 games." And the team has "offered steep discounts for much of this season, including $4 tickets for July 4 and $5 tickets for bobblehead nights" (L.A. TIMES, 8/17).
TEAM WINS ONE: The Dodgers yesterday prevailed in their dispute with FMI, gaining court approval to continue their bankruptcy reorganization efforts on the current schedule. FMI sought an accelerated decision by Sept. 26 on whether the club will continue or terminate a current, eight-year merchandising pact, arguing it was in financial distress amid the need to order goods for the '12 season over the next few weeks while team attendance flounders. But Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware said the club has not violated the contract with FMI. Additionally, FMI retains the ability to seek damages later on if it loses the Dodgers contract after buying merchandise. "There are numerous reasons in fact and law for me to rule this way," Gross said, adding the Dodgers are entitled to complete their reorganization plan before deciding on the fate of the FMI contract (Fisher).
