魔术师约翰逊为首的一群被挑选为道奇队’ 接下来的所有者

本组, headed by the Lakers legend known for community involvement, agrees to pay $2 billion for the team. Frank McCourt keeps a small land take.

A group led by Lakers legend Magic Johnson emerged Tuesday night as the new owners of the Dodgers, ending months of uncertainty for the storied but troubled baseball franchise.

约翰逊, who guided the Lakers to five NBA championships during the “开演时间” era of the 1980s, is a partner in the group along with longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten and movie executive Peter Guber. The controlling owner would be Mark Walter, chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, a Chicago-based financial services company.

Walter and McCourt met privately in New York on Tuesday, coming to an agreement only hours after Major League Baseball owners approved three final bidders.

The winning group paid $2 billion for the team — a record for a sports franchise — according to an announcement issued jointly with previous owner Frank McCourt.

“I am thrilled to be part of the historic Dodger franchise,” Johnson said in the statement, adding the new owners “intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by Frank McCourt as we drive the Dodgers back to the front page of the sports section.”

After taking the team into bankruptcy last year, McCourt had sought to retain control of the parking lots surrounding the ballpark. It was announced he and “certain affiliates” of the new ownership will be “forming a joint venture, which will acquire the Chavez Ravine property for an additional $150 million.”

Johnson’s group will control the parking lots for Dodgers games and work with McCourt on any future development.

In the statement, McCourt said the sale “reflects both the strength and future potential of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and assures that the Dodgers will have new ownership with deep local roots, which bodes well for the Dodgers, its fans and the Los Angeles community.”

The announcement Tuesday ended three years of turmoil during which the team’s performance on the field deteriorated and the front office struggled financially.

McCourt chose Johnson’s group over St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and a partnership of hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.

The Dodgers last won the World Series in 1988, their sixth championship in half a century of O’Malley family ownership. The Johnson group would become the Dodgers’ third owner since the O’Malleys sold the team in 1998, following News Corp. and McCourt.

The sale must be confirmed by the court in a hearing April 13. The transaction is set to close by April 30, the same day McCourt must pay his ex-wife $131 million in a divorce settlement.

If the deal closes as expected, the Dodgers would be owned by an entity called Guggenheim Baseball Partners. Kasten, former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, would run the team.

“Stan Kasten is my man,” Johnson told The Times in announcing his bid last December. “He’s a winner. He’s built two incredible organizations, and he’s well-respected. 这就是很重要的是我. 我不得不用一个冠军, a guy who understands baseball inside and out.”

The sales price was nearly three times the previous record price for a baseball franchise, $845 million for the Chicago Cubs in 2009.

The bulk of the funding to buy the Dodgers came from Guggenheim. Walter is not expected to play a significant role in the day-to-day operation of the Dodgers.

Guggenheim President Todd Boehly and Bobby Patton were also listed as partners.

约翰逊, who has built a reputation for community involvement since his playing days ended, would own a small stake in the Dodgers, as would Guber, who is co-owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Johnson and Guber are partners in the Dayton Dragons, a minor league baseball team that has sold out 844 consecutive games, an ongoing record in U.S. professional sports.

约翰逊带来了五次总冠军洛杉矶, 结婚体育和娱乐为一体的龙头 “开演时间” 在20世纪80年代湖人. 三届NBA最有价值球员入选了名人堂的霍尔 2002, 而当时他已经推出了包括了电影院，一个商业帝国, 银行, 餐厅和电影制作.

约翰逊, 52, 还投资于 — 并引发了公众意识 — 抗击艾滋病毒, 这促使他从NBA到退役的疾病 1991.

出售的公告, 而新赛季下周的曙光, 可能预示着未来美好的日子为躲闪, 公民宝伤痕累累的过去三年.

麦考特在买下道奇队 2004 为 $430 万, 什么他的离婚律师之一说的是 “没有一分钱” 他自己的现金. 他近一倍的收益团队 — 从 $156 百万元 2003 到 $286 百万元 2009, 根据法庭文件 — and the Dodgers reached the playoffs four times in his first six seasons of ownership.

On the eve of the 2009 National League championship series — with the Dodgers about to make their first back-to-back NLCS appearances in 31 年 — the McCourts announced they had separated.

The Dodgers lost that series in five games and have not finished above third place in the NL West since.

As the McCourts separated, the attorney for Frank McCourt said his client would remain in control of the Dodgers.

“Speculation about a potential sale of the team is rubbish,” attorney Marshall Grossman said then. “Frank McCourt is the sole owner. He has absolutely no intention of selling this team now or ever.”

Grossman said McCourt had a marital property agreement that specified the Dodgers were his separate property rather than community property.

不过, attorneys later discovered three copies of the agreement that said the Dodgers belonged solely to McCourt and three that said they did not. After an 11-day trial in 2010, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon threw out the deal.

The Dodgers last year endured what might have been the most tumultuous season in club history, which started with San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow being beaten nearly to death in the Dodger Stadium parking lot and ended as Major League Baseball accused McCourt of “抢劫” $189 million in team revenue for personal use.

In the interim, the Dodgers played before a half-empty stadium, 与麦考特说联赛已经通过提高对球场保安和联赛莫须有的担忧吓坏歌迷说球迷们拒绝支持麦考特的所有权.

麦考特带着球队进入破产六月, 本质上，要求法院驳回专员塞利格，让道奇队进入一个价值数十亿美元的电视转播合同. 塞利格拒绝一个提出的$ 3十亿处理福克斯体育的一部分，因为麦考特会转移一些对离婚协议所得款项.

在破产法庭申请, 律师为麦科特指称塞利格回应 “巨大的负面宣传” 试离婚由孵化计划呛了道奇队的’ 货币供应量和强制销售团队.

The league alleged McCourt’s financial mismanagement in asking the Bankruptcy Court to order a sale, even threatening to kick the Dodgers out of the league if McCourt retained control.

McCourt reached separate settlements with his ex-wife and MLB within three weeks of one another last fall. Once McCourt agreed to sell the Dodgers, MLB agreed to let him auction the team and granted him final say in selecting the new owner.

The bidding was spirited, with the new owner in position to negotiate a television contract that might be worth three times as much as the price to buy the team.

Former owner Peter O’Malley tried to buy back the team, and other unsuccessful bidders included such notable figures as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban; 前道奇队总教练托瑞和洛杉矶的开发商瑞克·卡鲁索; 孟菲斯灰熊老板迈克尔 - 海斯利; 和贾里德库什纳, 儿子女婿唐纳德·特朗普和所有者纽约观察员和出版商.

所有具有比麦考特和他的前妻较高的公共配置文件, 谁介绍自己到洛杉矶 2004 作为棒球爱好夫妇从波士顿谁也移植自己和他们的四个儿子，实现拥有自己的大联盟球队的梦想.

“家族所有权又回到了道奇队,” 弗兰克·麦考特说，当天.

五年后, 弗兰克解雇了他的前妻为道奇队’ 行政长官在终止信中引用 “不服从, 非反应性, 不按程序办事和不得体的行为与直接下属,” 参考外遇，他声称她与她的司机.

当杰米·麦考特发起了离婚诉讼 — 1周害羞什么将是这对夫妻的30周年 — 她透露了一个奢侈的生活方式的夫妇的唯一收入来源提供资金的细节: 道奇队.

“弗兰克和我喜欢的很多特殊待遇，并附带拥有一个大联盟棒球队的好处,” 她在法庭声明写道：.

在法庭文件中, 杰米·麦考特写道联合工资 $7 每年百万, 更多 $46 万买并排侧海滨屋在马里布, $27 万买并排侧院附近的花花公子大厦, 在马萨诸塞州的附加属性, 蒙大拿, 科罗拉多州, 怀俄明州和墨西哥, $400 晚餐和1000美元一晚的酒店, 世界各地的私人飞机旅行, 从美发师和化妆师甚至家访.

来源: 的. 时报