That deal included the team, Wrigley Field and a 25% stake in a cable sports channel. The Burke group proposes paying almost half again as much for the Dodgers, their stadium and a chance to start a cable sports channel or negotiate a new cable television contact.
Despite the Forbes estimate, the team could be worth from $900 million to $1.1 billion, said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd, a Chicago-based sports industry consulting firm.
But with Fox at risk of losing the Dodgers to rival Time Warner's fledgling Lakers channel, the bidding on the TV rights could be so robust that the team itself could fetch $1.2 billion or more in "a full-fledged auction" in Bankruptcy Court, said a prominent sports investment banker, who declined to be identified because he could represent potential bidders for the Dodgers.
Burke sold the Los Angeles Marathon in 2004, building the race into one of the largest in the United States but jousting with city officials in various financial skirmishes, including disputes over reimbursement for city services and ownership of the L.A. Marathon name. Burke is the husband of retired Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.
Burke sold the race to Devine Racing. In 2008, Devine sold the marathon to McCourt.
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