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MARC TOPKINThe Glazers might not be able to overcome financial obstacles to purchase.
BOSTON - The Glazer family's bid to buy the Dodgers has been stalled by complicated financial issues that may prove insurmountable.
Top baseball officials indicated Wednesday that the Glazers, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are having trouble structuring the Dodgers purchase in a way that would satisfy stringent ownership rules in Major League Baseball and the NFL.
"Right now from our standpoint it's in limbo," MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy said at the quarterly owners meeting.
The problem, in simplest form, is that the Glazers may not have enough money independent of their Bucs-related holdings to do a deal estimated at $360-million to $450-million.
Under MLB rules, they would have to come up with about 60 percent of the purchase price in cash ($220-million to $270-million) and could finance the other 40 percent. But under NFL rules, they are not allowed to use any money from the Bucs for the purchase or use the team as collateral for any loans. The NFL also would require the family to operate the Dodgers with "independent resources, independent financing, independent management."
The issue appears to be in their inability to satisfy both requirements. Baseball officials have rejected several proposed structures and have been waiting more than three weeks for a revised format and additional information. NFL officials also are reviewing the deal and may have had objections, which could account for the delay.
"I do know it's complicated and I don't have any idea on a timetable," Dodgers chairman Bob Daly said. "The last report I had, we were waiting for baseball and football to indicate their opinions."
Does the delay mean the deal is stalled, or dead?
"When you are dealing with two different leagues it gets very complicated," Daly said. "Let's just leave it that way."
There have been reports suggesting the Glazers and Dodgers had agreed in principle and a deal was imminent, but it was denied by all parties. DuPuy said Wednesday: "We've seen no agreement."
The Dodgers have submitted the initial parts of a sale application, and it was the structure of the deal proposed in those documents that concerned MLB. If and when the final application is submitted, MLB's ownership committee and executive council will do a thorough evaluation, background check and analysis.
"We reviewed the proposed ownership and financing structure and we sent them back questions that solicited additional information and commentary and that's what we're waiting for," DuPuy said.
"It's in their court. That's basically where we are. We haven't gotten anything."
The Glazers have been considered the frontrunner for the Dodgers since bids were accepted in April, fueling national speculation, and causing an uneasy feeling among Tampa Bay fans, they then would sell the Bucs and seek an NFL franchise for Los Angeles. The Glazers have refused to discuss their plans, but DuPuy said his understanding is they would keep the Bucs.
"We've not been involved in the football side but to my knowledge nothing we've heard suggests anything other than them owning the Dodgers in L.A. and the Buccaneers in Tampa," said DuPuy, who was hospitalized later Wednesday after falling on the steps of the meeting hotel.
MLB has no rules regarding cross-ownership. The NFL does, permitting an owner to own another sports franchise only if it is in the same city as the NFL team or in a city that is not considered a potential NFL market. Los Angeles, which has been without an NFL team since 1994, is considered the top site for relocation.
Tagliabue said in April the Glazers could get around the rule because the Dodgers' purchase would be a "separate opportunity" with Ed Glazer, one of Malcolm's sons, running the team. Baseball officials also may not be happy with that part of the plan as Ed has no experience in that type of role.
The team is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which bought it from the O'Malley family in 1997 for a reported $311-million.
The Glazers have been working for years to get involved with baseball, pursuing deals in the mid 1990s to buy the Padres and Pirates.