http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/17/AR2010011703405.htmlA Wednesday deadline regarding exclusivity looms over the sale of the remaining 56% of the Washington Wizards, Verizon Center, and the DC/Baltimore Ticket franchise to the owner of the Washington Mystics and the Washington Capitals, Ted Leonsis who owns 44% of the team and Verizon Center and Ticketmaster DC. If nothing is reached by then, the Pollins and Ted Leonsis (and his minority partners) can extend the deadline of exclusivity talks, meaning that Irene Pollin, the owner right now, can only talk to Ted Leonsis for awhile longer, OR she can open this up to the open market for potential bidders.
The Wizards AND Verizon Center alone are valued at possibly as much as $500 million, though Forbes claims that the team itself is valued at about $315 million, which is about average among franchises. The recent troubles of the team may drop down the value of the team somewhat, but you must consider this:
1. The Washington/Baltimore, MD metropolitan areas are home to over 8 million people, 9th biggest in the country. Therefore, Washington is a big market.
2. Sure there are a number of cities larger than Washington (NY, Chicago, Miami, LA, Philly, and recently even ATL), but this is the capital of the most powerful country in the world, and therefore, a high amount of workers in this area are federal government workers. The economy sucks right now and the unemployment rate is very high in NBA cities like Detroit and Cleveland. Yes, in DC the unemployment has gone up, but not at the same rate. So you know people have very stable jobs here, as opposed to the other two cities I mentioned which have been more dependent on manufacturing.
3. This is a tourist town. Verizon Center isn't really known too much for being a menacing home court advantage arena, even when the team was performing well this decade. A lot of guys from many NBA cities come here to see the Smithsonian Institution museums here, see the Holocaust Museum, see the National Zoo (that is Smithsonian too), and oh yeah, they'll catch an NBA game too to see their hometown team play on the road. The Wizards (like the Magic) are among the league leaders in ticket sales for groups and out of towners; the Magic actually have a tourist division.
4. This plays up on #'s 2 and 3 a bit. Verizon Center does have a lot of fans rooting for the wrong team, even when the Kobes or LeBrons don't come. Well, this is the nation's capital, and people from all over the country move here to work, many who do settle down here, and they care about the hometown NBA team they grew up with, NOT the Wizards. So yes, a lot of DC area (and Baltimore area) residents are NBA fans, but liked the Pacers so much because they're from Indiana but moved here a couple years ago... And these guys of course have stable jobs not subject to the ups and downs of the economy.
If Leonsis buys the teamHe will be principal owner of only one of I believe TWO sports ownership groups that own an NBA team, a WNBA team, and an NHL team. Cablevision owns Madison Square Garden, which owns the Knicks, Liberty, and Rangers (they also own an AHL team as well). Profits for all three should increase greatly as the Caps and Mystics are no longer renters of the Phone Booth.
If He Doesn't Buy the Team by the Deadline Wednesday and it's not released
The Wizards and the Verizon Center will likely be appraised, and the team will go up for auction if Irene Pollin doesn't find a suitable price before hand. If the team goes up for auction, it is definitely possible that Redskins owner Dan Snyder may try to get this team. It does make sense for him to do so since he'd own an NFL AND an NBA team. He even has the money to perhaps to either buy out Ted (unlikely) for the Caps and Mystics if he really really wanted to, but knowing Leonsis, he isn't gonna do that. Though it's unlikely, it is remotely possible that the new owner may try to move the Wizards out of town, like what Clay Bennett did to the Seattle Sonics. However, with one of the nation's most accessible and state of the art arenas coming along with the Wizards, there is practically no chance of the Wizards moving to Seattle or something like that, but yes, it is possible.
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