One of the top blogger's in the business is back. Mack's Mets welcomes back Mike's Mets with previews of some of his recent posts.
The Return of Alex and Jennifer
According to the New York Post, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez haven't given up in their efforts to buy the New York Mets. The Post reports that the duo are now working with "senior bankers" at JPMorgan Chase to put together the capital needed for the purchase. The article also states that they are putting hundreds of millions of their own wealth into the purchase.
Their thinking behind the purchase is interesting. Apparently they envision Citi Field as part of a larger entertainment and shopping venue. We've heard talk of something like that for years, but not much has really changed. The neighborhood around the ballpark is still pretty seedy. Unless your idea of entertainment is walking by rows of chop shops, there will need to be a huge investment involved in making the vision of Citi Field as an entertainment hub a reality.
Their thinking behind the purchase is interesting. Apparently they envision Citi Field as part of a larger entertainment and shopping venue. We've heard talk of something like that for years, but not much has really changed. The neighborhood around the ballpark is still pretty seedy. Unless your idea of entertainment is walking by rows of chop shops, there will need to be a huge investment involved in making the vision of Citi Field as an entertainment hub a reality.
It makes a ton of sense, really. That was supposed to be some of the justification behind building the new ballpark. Even back then they were talking about turning the area into a place people could spend the day. I remember seeing drawings envisioning what it might look like. I could only presume that the whole Madoff fiasco put an end to those dreams.
As I've mentioned previously on this blog, I worry that a group that needs to finance this purchase with a lot of debt will be under financial stress to pay off that debt, and may not be in the position to run this club as a large market franchise should be run. On the other hand, if you have a smart group of investors that aren't only interested in the club, but also making a long-term investment in the whole area, I can see that working out.
In that scenario, running the Mets as a first-class operation would be important to the long-term success of the whole endeavor. It would be much more likely to succeed if the Mets were a legitimate contender year after year. I could even foresee a point where money made from the operations around the park could be used to help finance the team, if the same folks were involved in team ownership and the surrounding shopping and entertainment areas. It would make sense to see the success of the club as the cornerstone of the entire project.
As I've mentioned previously on this blog, I worry that a group that needs to finance this purchase with a lot of debt will be under financial stress to pay off that debt, and may not be in the position to run this club as a large market franchise should be run. On the other hand, if you have a smart group of investors that aren't only interested in the club, but also making a long-term investment in the whole area, I can see that working out.
In that scenario, running the Mets as a first-class operation would be important to the long-term success of the whole endeavor. It would be much more likely to succeed if the Mets were a legitimate contender year after year. I could even foresee a point where money made from the operations around the park could be used to help finance the team, if the same folks were involved in team ownership and the surrounding shopping and entertainment areas. It would make sense to see the success of the club as the cornerstone of the entire project.
