Sale Is Put on Owners’ Agenda

Commissioner Bud Selig has put the issue of Frank McCourt’s bid to buy the Dodgers on the agenda for a Jan. 14-15 owners’ meeting in Phoenix, a high ranking baseball official said Wednesday.

The official added, however, that it’s uncertain whether the proposed purchase by the Boston real estate developer will be put to a vote requiring three-fourths approval of the 30 clubs.

“Most of the clubs, aside from those on the ownership committee, haven’t seen the proposed financing yet, and it’s the kind of deal that has raised concerns,” the official said. “Can they be surmounted? Time will tell.”

Selig seldom puts an issue to a vote unless he is certain of the results and seldom puts it on the agenda unless he plans to have a vote.

For McCourt, the clock is ticking.

According to his agreement with News Corp., the Dodgers’ current owner, he has until Jan. 31 to complete the purchase or he must pay a penalty and lose his exclusive negotiating rights.

If the $430-million deal is not voted on at the owners’ meetings, the baseball official said, Selig could do it in a conference call of the owners before Jan. 31, but “it’s likely the ownership committee will have sorted this out, one way or the other, before going to Arizona.”

A person familiar with the situation said Wednesday that the ownership committee is expected to forward a report -- and possible recommendation -- to the full ownership early next week.

Although McCourt and wife Jamie had what sources described as favorable meetings in person and by phone with members of the ownership committee before Christmas, his highly leveraged financing plan has raised lingering concerns. In addition, the person familiar with the situation said there is significant concern because McCourt’s own proposal acknowledges he would not be in compliance with baseball’s debt servicing rule for several years.

According to two people who have seen the proposal, the McCourts would basically finance the purchase through loans from News Corp. and Bank of America, with other lending institutions also involved.

A person close to the McCourts denied recently that Aramark, one of Dodger Stadium’s two concessionaires, is one of the proposed lenders, but sources with knowledge of the situation say McCourt has a sweetheart deal in place by which Aramark would receive the equivalent of preferred equity status in the club while improving the McCourts’ cash flow through discounted concessions.

Amid industry speculation that the ownership committee has asked McCourt to restructure the proposal, the high ranking baseball official said, “No, that hasn’t happened yet, but he may have to restructure and he may have to put more of his money in the deal.”

McCourt is reportedly using his valuable waterfront property in Boston as collateral for the loans, and sources said it would be difficult for him to complete a major restructuring before the Jan. 14-15 meeting. That is only one of many complexities still clouding the proposed purchase.

Many in baseball believe that McCourt has a viable possibility of being approved despite the financing concerns because Selig is intent on helping News Corp., baseball’s leading underwriter through its national and regional television contracts.

Said one baseball executive: “I think the ownership committee would have already thrown out the McCourt proposal if any other entity than News Corp. was involved.”