View Full Version : Bay Area Billionaire wants to Buy Pro Team
chayes
31 Oct 2004, 12:04 PM
Yeah, its the 49ers... but this guy wants to own something. He's desperate, he offered to buy the Warriors.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1912259
Ellison made it clear Friday that he wants to own a professional sports franchise.
Goodsport
31 Oct 2004, 02:26 PM
Yeah, its the 49ers... but this guy wants to own something. He's desperate, he offered to buy the Warriors.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1912259
It would be cool if Larry Ellison became an MLS investor/operator. However, in his eyes, the Niners and Warriors would've brought him a greater return on investment than an MLS team would. :(
Would he be correct in that thinking, considering that the NFL and NBA are more popular than MLS is among average American sports fans, and will be for some time to come? :confused:
-G
DAGSports
31 Oct 2004, 07:39 PM
It would be cool if Larry Ellison became an MLS investor/operator. However, in his eyes, the Niners and Warriors would've brought him a greater return on investment than an MLS team would. :(
Would he be correct in that thinking, considering that the NFL and NBA are more popular than MLS is among average American sports fans, and will be for some time to come? :confused:
-G
Depends on how much it costs to buy and run the franchise. The 49ers can certainly be profitable. The Warriors? I'm not certain.
skipshady
31 Oct 2004, 08:58 PM
Depends on how much it costs to buy and run the franchise. The 49ers can certainly be profitable. The Warriors? I'm not certain.
True. The salary structure in NFL favors the owners - the hard salary cap forces teams to build fiscally responsible teams and since there are no guaranteed contracts, they aren't locked down to lengthy contracts for unproductive players. And although you only get 8 home games plus playoffs, every game sells out and they can pack in 60 to 80,000 a game. Plus, the TV and licensing deals are really really really really big.
But the most important thing is that you can go from last place to Super Bowl contention pretty quick. Parity is good for business.
The NBA is pretty lucrative, but not as much as the NFL. The TV deal isn't as good, and the salary cap has more loopholes than fishnet stockings. Guaranteed contracts mean that teams are often paying for players who are retired, have been waived and signed by other teams, or are otherwise unproductive. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is up next year, and the owners are really pushing for shorter contracts - we"ll see how that plays out.
Still both bring in good money - if you have a crapload of money to begin with, that is.
Golazo
01 Nov 2004, 02:29 PM
Someone tell Larry how crazy they are for soccer in Japan.
(Isn't he the one that's all ga-ga over all things Rising Sun?)
e_honda
01 Nov 2004, 03:32 PM
Depends on how much it costs to buy and run the franchise. The 49ers can certainly be profitable. The Warriors? I'm not certain.
The Warriors are profitable.
That's sort of why the owner won't sell to Ellison.
Eastern Bear
01 Nov 2004, 09:44 PM
The Warriors are profitable.
That's sort of why the owner won't sell to Ellison.
Ellison's a creep, the league would be better off w/o him. He'd probably sell out after a few years and start his own league b/c he didn't get his way.
monster
02 Nov 2004, 03:39 PM
True. The salary structure in NFL favors the owners - the hard salary cap forces teams to build fiscally responsible teams and since there are no guaranteed contracts, they aren't locked down to lengthy contracts for unproductive players. And although you only get 8 home games plus playoffs, every game sells out and they can pack in 60 to 80,000 a game. Plus, the TV and licensing deals are really really really really big.
But the most important thing is that you can go from last place to Super Bowl contention pretty quick. Parity is good for business.
Also lucrative are the signage, etc., in the stadium. One place Iworked kicked that around regarding the Ravens. The prices and lock-in times were stunning to say the least.
billreeves
02 Nov 2004, 03:48 PM
Someone tell Larry how crazy they are for soccer in Japan.
(Isn't he the one that's all ga-ga over all things Rising Sun?)
Yeah, that's him -- his mansion in Woodside is built in the style of a medieval Japanese palace.
I sent him an email asking him to buy the Quakes after I saw an article on this last week, but haven't heard back yet.
-- Bill, former Oracle employee