MLB officials traveled to Delaware yesterday to "discuss their concerns" about the Dodgers sale with a court-appointed mediator, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. The league "does not intend to try to derail the sale, but tension between MLB and the Dodgers has intensified over the issue of what sale details must be disclosed to the league." If the league "cannot resolve its concerns with Joseph Farnan, the mediator who has taken control of the sale process, MLB could be faced with the unappealing choice of swallowing hard and saying nothing on Friday or registering complaints that might have no impact." The MLB owners "had approved three bids" for the Dodgers, including the Magic Johnson-Guggenheim Partners bid, then at $1.6B. The league has "asked for details about the source of the additional $505 million, and about the joint venture" that former Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt and Guggenheim Baseball Management formed to own the Dodger Stadium parking lots. The Dodgers have "declined, claiming the structure and financing of the deal remains the same as approved by MLB -- all cash plus debt assumption, with no new team debt and no new financial partners." The Dodgers also have "declined to explain the parking lot arrangement, since the McCourt entity that currently owns the lots is not part of the team’s bankruptcy filing." A source said that the mediator appears to "believe the Dodgers’ actions are consistent with the terms of the sale agreement" (L.A. TIMES, 4/12). Meanwhile, the L.A. Times in a court filing yesterday argued that the Dodgers "should be required to disclose the conditions that govern land use around Dodger Stadium." The Dodgers have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court for permission to "file those conditions under seal, citing the 'sensitive non-public commercial information' within." Attorneys for the paper argued that the Dodgers "have not provided any evidence to support that claim or shown why it should outweigh 'the well-established presumption of public access to judicial records'" (L.A. TIMES, 4/12).
ATTENDANCE DOWN: In L.A., Steve Dilbeck noted after selling out their home opener against the Pirates Tuesday, the Dodgers "played before an announced crowd of only 29,729" yesterday. MLB uses tickets sold for attendance, and "much like last season, there appeared to be an unnerving amount of no-shows." The Pirates are "hardly the sexiest draw in the National League, and the cool weather could not have helped walk-up sales, but there had to be organizational disappointment at such a small crowd in only the second home game of the year" (LATIMES.com, 4/11).
