For Dodgers, it’s a new ballgame

Finally, Frank McCourt made what appears to be his best decision ever on behalf of the Dodgers: He sold the team to a group that includes a local, business-savvy sports legend, an experienced baseball executive and the head of a deep-pocketed financial services company. Some of that lineup may be window-dressing, but at least the McCourt era is ending and a new one is beginning.

What may determine the success of this era is how much the new owners are prepared to invest in the team, developing a roster of top-tier talent and making necessary renovations to the stadium. Guggenheim Baseball Management, as the partnership is called, includes Lakers great Magic Johnson, entertainment industry executive and Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber, and Stan Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals. Kasten will run the Dodgers. But it is Mark Walter, the chief executive of Guggenheim Partners — a company based in Chicago and New York that controls more than $125 billion in assets and provided the bulk of the funds to buy the team — who is the new controlling owner. The group purchased the team, the stadium and — in a joint venture with McCourt — the parking lots and other property for a record-shattering $2 billion, mostly in cash and without financing. No sports franchise of any kind has ever sold for that much.

They’ve got the public’s attention. They’ve also raised hopes that the new owners realize that the purchase price, though steep, is just the initiation fee into this game, and that it takes millions more to develop and draw talent to lead a team to the World Series. So far, in a spate of interviews, Johnson, Kasten and Walter have said all the right things about the importance of cultivating a roster while also acquiring proven stars. And Kasten showed it during his years overseeing the winning Braves. Johnson has attracted particular interest locally, for the obvious reason that he’s a celebrated Los Angeles sports figure. He is, to be sure, a small stakeholder in this venture, but his endorsement of his partners may mean more than his stake. It suggests that he believes this group is committed to the refurbishment of a storied team. He has also promised to have an office at the stadium, mentoring players and functioning as a public face of the Dodgers, interacting with fans and the community. As popular and smart as Johnson is, he will presumably do a much better job in that role than the last person who claimed it — Jamie McCourt. It is safe to say he won’t do worse.

There is one other piece of business that needs to be dispatched: The new owners should quickly settle the Bryan Stow lawsuit, brought by attorneys for the Giants fan who was viciously beaten after a game early last season. That would help clear the books of McCourt’s legacy and inaugurate an auspicious new chapter in the life of this once-great enterprise.