Old baron Marvin Davis has upped the ante on sports franchise ownership by saying he is willing to spend more than $1 billion to give his sons, Gregg and John, an NFL expansion team in the Los Angeles market and a new stadium.
"I?m not going to back off of it," Davis told friend and Baltimore Ravens? owner, Art Modell. "I?m real serious about getting a team for my boys."
The price tag to bring football back to LA reflects the escalation in the sale prices of sports franchises. The NFL?s Washington Redskins and their stadium sold for $800 million this year. The expansion Cleveland Browns cost $530 million last year. Baseball?s Los Angeles Dodgers and the NBA?s Toronto Raptors each sold for $350 million in 1998. Those sales were dwarfed by the $1.03 billion Rupert Murdoch?s BskyB cable network paid for England?s most famous soccer team, the Reds of Manchester United, in 1998.
Davis failed in efforts to buy the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos as well as baseball?s Oakland A?s. He had been sitting while various Los Angeles groups, including one backed by Hollywood dealmaker Michael Ovitz, debated sites, parking and franchise fees. Houston, under consideration for the 32nd franchise, seemed to be gaining favour with owners. But when the NFL said it would consider sites other than the Los Angeles Coliseum, Davis jumped in. Davis, 74, met with NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue in San Francisco. Former Denver quarterback John Elway has met with Gregg and John Davis regarding an executive position with the new team in exchange for part-ownership.
To get a new NFL team, it would cost about $400 million for a stadium and up to $750 million for the franchise fee. The NFL?s expansion committee will discuss possibilities for the new franchise at its October 5th meeting in Atlanta.
USA TODAY
