McCourt commits to Dodger Stadium for 25 years

Posted May 13, 2005 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)

As part of a refinancing plan for the Los Angeles Dodgers, owner Frank McCourt committed the team to 25 more years in Dodger Stadium. Basically, the debt on the team was shifted to Dodger Stadium and away from the franchise itself after a subsidiary of L.A. Real Estate, LLC, which owns Dodger Stadium and the surrounding real estate, has completed a $250-million private placement of senior notes. The terms of the placement include provisions specifying that there will be no change in control of the Dodgers or where they play for 25 years. The refinancing also allows McCourt to pay off $71 million in loans from Fox News (the team's former owner), incurred when McCourt bought the team. When McCourt initially bought the team there was speculation the Boston real-estate investor would seek a deal for a new Los Angeles ballpark and sell off the Chavez Ravine property, but in the last year McCourt has downplayed any move and made several commitments to Dodger Stadium, including a $20-million renovation this offseason.

However, there may be other changes for the Dodgers on the facilities front. There are rumblings about the team exploring a new spring-training home in the Cactus League. While it would seem heretical for the team to abandon Vero Beach's fabled Dodgertown, there are some practical arguments for the West Coast Dodgers to train in Arizona. Nothing is imminent, and one factor will be whether the Dodgers continue their commitment to keeping most of its farm system in the Southeast: team officials have privately expressed dissatisfaction at working with the Jacksonville Suns (Class AA; Southern League), and if the team decided to end that affiliation after the 2006 season you can expect to see a domino effect where the team's minor-league system ends up centered on the West Coast, not in Florida.

 

Glad to see Dodger Stadium is safe for another quarter-century.

 

The Dodgers leaving Dodgertown would be the sadest day in Grapefruit League history.

Leaving Dodger stadium would be heresy, glad to see the Inquisition isn't going to have tortue anybody for at least 25 more years.