L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that he “strongly believes the next Dodgers owner should be from Los Angeles and should understand how the storied franchise is ‘deeply woven into the fabric of our great city,’” according to John Hoeffel of the L.A. TIMES. Some local businessmen “have already talked about acquiring the Dodgers, including former owner Peter O’Malley, who said he plans to put together a new ownership group.” Penguins co-Owner Ron Burkle has “also expressed interest in the team.” It is unclear whether Villaraigosa's request “will have much sway over Selig and the other team owners who will decide the Dodgers' fate.” The Gores Group Chair & CEO Alec Gores, whose brother Tom Gores bought the Pistons earlier this year, and real estate developer Alan Casden “also could be in the running.” Casden "pursued the Dodgers" before current Owner Frank McCourt bought the team (LATIMES.com, 11/4). In Chicago, Phil Rogers wrote Selig has “crossed off one of the biggest items on his to-do list when he negotiated a settlement with Frank McCourt to sell the Dodgers, a move Selig believes will put one of his ‘crown jewel’ franchises on solid footing again.” Selig is “confident the team will be in new hands by spring training.” Rogers noted Selig is “being hailed for his work in getting the team through the ugliness of the McCourt divorce.” With the Dodgers “no longer an ongoing crisis, Selig can move on to the next items on his list” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/6).
STEP BY STEP: ESPN L.A.’s Tony Jackson cited sources who provided a brief look at what to expect as the sale process moves forward. McCourt’s “first step is to prepare a sale book to be presented to Major League Baseball, U.S. bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross and prospective buyers.” For the interested buyers, the “first step is to submit formal applications to get in on the process.” At this stage, the interested parties “essentially are applying to get a look at the Dodgers' financial records.” The applications are “then submitted to the Blackstone Group, which, on behalf of McCourt, will select a handful of groups -- five to 10 of them, one source surmised -- it deems best equipped to take part in the bidding.” But that “represents only the first round of cuts.” MLB then “takes all the groups already selected by Blackstone and vets each one.” Once a prospective owner or ownership group “has gained stamps of approval from both Blackstone and MLB, only then does it gain access to the team's financials.” Once all that is done, those prospective owners or groups “will submit their bids.” A report earlier last week said that MLB “would like to have a new owner in place by the time the Dodgers officially open the 2012 season on April 5 in San Diego.” One source said that “while that date isn't necessarily inaccurate, it is completely random and in no way represents a goal for getting the team sold.” The source said that the sale “could take a much shorter time or a much longer one to complete the process” (ESPNLA.com, 11/5).
MAY NEED TO LOWER EXPECTATIONS: CNBC’s Darren Rovell said the sale of the Dodgers will “move quickly” because MLB “is going to get an owner by the start of next season.” Rovell said of the possible sale price, “Everyone loves the magical number of a billion. That number will likely be controlled by the banks. When Frank McCourt bought the team, he had to put almost zero money down. Today, because of the state of the economy, a buyer who pays $1 billion must put down about 60% cash. There aren’t many people who have $600 million of cash floating around. I say unless it’s a good collection of people -- a lot of owners -- that $1 billion number is never reached” (“CNBC Sports Biz: Game On!,” Versus, 11/4).
MARATHON SALE: In L.A., Bill Shaikin reported McCourt “also has put the Los Angeles Marathon up for sale.” McCourt “bought the marathon three years ago, revitalizing the race with a course that starts at Dodger Stadium, runs through Hollywood and Beverly Hills and ends in Santa Monica.” Dodgers Senior VP/Public Affairs Howard Sunkin said that McCourt “decided over the summer to entertain offers for the race.” Sources said that the marathon “probably would sell for less than $20 million” (L.A. TIMES, 11/5).
