LA Developer Leads Effort For Fans To 'Own The Dodgers'
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Just about every baseball fan who has ever stepped foot inside Dodger Stadium has secretly dreamed of someday owning the team.
But as pressure mounts for Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to yield more control of the team to league officials over questionable financial dealings, one man wants to make that dream a reality.
Local real estate developer Stanley Stalford is heading up a campaign by a group of Dodger fans who hopes to one day buy the team from McCourt.
Stalford told KNX 1070's Randy Kerdoon there are three reasons fan ownership would work.
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"Pay cash for our team, because cash buyers are better than having debt," Stalford said. "Two, use the money that we save by not having debt or by worrying about taking profits out to buy houses in Malibu, and we take all that money and put it on the field to get the best players in Major League Baseball."
"And number three is," he continued, "to use the balance of the excess cash to roll it back into Dodger Stadium improvements, which it desperately needs."
Stalford said even in this economy, the hefty $800 milllion price tag is unlikely to scare investors off simply because of the attractiveness of the Southern California market.
And as McCourt's future with the team grows increasingly unclear, Councilwoman Janice Hahn has become the first public official to voice her support for public ownership of the team.
But Stalford said he can't raise the funds on his own.
"We need the fans — for fun and for free — to just go to the website and register your support," Stalford said. "We don't ask for money, there's no profit motive here."
For more info and updates on Stalford's efforts, visit OwnTheDodgers.com.
