3:54pm: The sale is still fluid, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The O'Malley group and Jabara are definitely among the finalists, yet Kaplan isn't as certain and others could be involved.
2:39pm: Gary Jabara, Steve Kaplan, and the family of former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley appear to be the three finalists in the running to purchase the Padres, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports. Jabara, the founder of a wireless communications company, and Kaplan, an investment advisor, are based in Los Angeles/Orange County, rather than San Diego.
Bidders had to be prepared to spend $800MM to become one of the three finalists, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. However, some people say owner John Moores’ asking price isn’t justifiable given the Padres’ revenues, according to Heyman.
Moores could select a buyer by next week, according to FOX Sports. The sale price reflects the team’s rising value, but will also include equity in FOX Sports San Diego.
Thats a huge price to pay for the Padres. They have a beautiful park (coming from a Dodgers fan) however I don’t see how a new owner can make money being that there is a host of restaurants right outside the stadium and that’s not counting GasLamp District.
On the other hand, the Dodgers new owners at the very least can develop some of the land to make money off of them.
It is all about the income from the new TV deal with Fox – which is worth 1.2 to 1.5 billion dollars. In addition, the Padres get $75 million a year from MLB from revenue sharing and shared income, such as MLB TV, merchandise, etc.
Even if San Diego fielded a pennant winning team, the fans still wouldn’t show up. The people immediately around the ballpark simply aren’t the typical baseball fans. The real core is either up in Oceanside or way down in Chula Vista.
What are you talking about?
It is not like either of those communities are light years from San Diego. Jeez, you can take the trolley to Chula Vista.
Chula Vista is 8 miles from Petco. Even Eastlake is only 16.
remember when everyone said the same about Giants fans?
o malley please
If John Moores were to be a mensch, he would sell the team to a proven owner like the O’malley group. They won’t be afraid to spend a little to make a little; they are a true sports franchise owner.