The all-Cal World Series is here. Variety reports that the value of the Angels may have gone up as much as 25%, from $200 to $250 million, with their impending appearance in the Fall Classic:
- Behind the scenes, Disney has made no secret of its attempts over the last three years to unload the team, along with pro hockey's Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The franchises have been seen as non-strategic businesses, diversions from the core Disney assets of movies, broadcast TV, cable TV and theme parks.
Indeed, Eisner's high spirits may be traceable to an analysis from David Carter, a principal with the Los Angeles-based Sports Business Group, who says the value of the Angels may have shot up to as high as $250 million from $200 million as a result of the World Series appearance.
Interested buyers in the Angels include billionaire Carlos Peralta; the Nederlander family, which owns and books theaters throughout the U.S.; and a consortium of investors being put together by former commissioner of baseball Peter Ueberroth.
But finding buyers for baseball teams has been tough. The Cleveland Indians sold for $320 million in February, 2000; the Toronto Blue Jays nabbed a paltry $112 million; and the Red Sox, one of the game's most storied franchises, was recently purchased for $660 million in a deal that included the regional cable sports network NESN and Fenway Park. The differences in prices are almost always tied up in real estate — whether a team owns its stadium and/or training facilities. News Corp. paid $311 million for the Dodgers four years ago.
Dean Bonham, head of the Denver-based Bonham Group of sports consultants, said the value of the Angels comes chiefly from ticket sales, particularly for luxury boxes, both in the postseason this year and for next year's regular season, and from lucrative "official" sponsorships in a whole group of categories ranging from beer and soft drinks to automobiles and telecommunications.
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