Generals’ Owner Trump Is Interested in Buying the Padres, Source Says

Donald Trump, the millionaire owner of the United States Football League’s New Jersey Generals, has contacted the San Diego Padres to say he is interested in buying the team, a source said Tuesday.

Trump was unavailable Tuesday night, but a source who had spoken with him said, “It hasn’t gone any further than a phone call. The Padres were kind of cold toward Donald, which leads me to believe that if Steve Garvey can get his group together, he’d have the best shot at getting the team.”

Garvey, the Padres’ first baseman, admitted Monday that he is trying to raise enough money--through his own resources, plus outside investors--to purchase the team. Owner Joan Kroc is reportedly asking for $50 million.

Beth Benes, Kroc’s attorney who also is in charge of the pending Padre sale, admitted Tuesday that she has received phone calls from possible buyers. But she would not give names. However, she did say that Garvey’s group has not yet been in touch with her.

A source said Trump, who is based in the New York area, would be willing to keep the Padres in San Diego.