Frank McCourt Agrees to Sell the Dodgers

A joint statement said there will be a “court-supervised process” to sell the team and its media rights to maximize value for the Dodgers and McCourt. The Blackstone Group LP will manage the sale, which could include Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots.

You’ll be surprised to learn that the parking lots were the part of the team that McCourt was really always fighting for.

Generally, when a team in any professional sport is sold, rumors begin to swirl about the new owner(s) moving the franchise to Los Angeles. (The exception is hockey where all teams are rumored to move to either Connecticut or Canada. Hockey is a funny sport like that.) Since the Dodgers already moved to Los Angeles in 1958, we just need to focus on who buys the team.

If you’re a fan of slideshows, CBS Los Angeles put together a list of potential buyers back in April. Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban is interested, but the previous asking price of $1 billion-plus was too much. Two months ago, McCourt was supposedly offered $1.2 billion from a group funded by the Chinese government. If the offer was genuine, they’ll have their chance at auction where they can bid on the team like a set of John F. Kennedy’s golf clubs.

Previously: Dodgers, McCourt Strike Out Again…. In Court
Previously: Dodgers, McCourt Strike Out, File For Bankruptcy Protection
Previously: MLB To Take Over Dodgers

[LA Times, USA Today, Getty]