Just heard on local Milwaukee TV that Wendy Selig is putting the team up for sale. They had already cut the payroll down to $20 million (was $30 million last year). The franchise is a hemmorhaging. Too bad because the ballpark is beautiful. Hopefully they get a deep pocketed buyer in to revive baseball in the city. Should be interesting to see how Bud runs the sale though.
GO PATS!!!
:elvis :patriots :pat :rooter :pat :patriots :elvis
Full Version: Brewers For Sale
once the team is sold, does Bud remain commish?
I would hope that when and if they do sell the Brewers that Selig would step
down as commissioner. Matter of fact, if they sell or not, I wish he would step down, but he won't! He hurt Baseball a couple years ago when he tried to contract
the Twins and Expos.
Go Red Sox!!!
I Still Hate the Yankees!!
down as commissioner. Matter of fact, if they sell or not, I wish he would step down, but he won't! He hurt Baseball a couple years ago when he tried to contract
the Twins and Expos.
Go Red Sox!!!
I Still Hate the Yankees!!
and for those of who in Milwaukee please help Bud out
Selig Leasing Company, Inc.
Statement from Bud Selig
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig released the following statement in connection with the announcement that the Milwaukee Brewers were for sale:
I am in full accord and very pleased with the decision of the board of the Milwaukee Brewers to pursue the sale of the club. While it is personally difficult for me to bring to an end a 40-year association with Major League Baseball in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, this decision is one that I have seriously considered and strongly desired since I was elected commissioner six years ago. With the future of Brewer baseball solidified in Wisconsin, my overriding concern has been met.
I have many wonderful and lasting memories of my time with the Brewers: from the five and a half year struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds to return Major League Baseball to Milwaukee in the 1960s which ultimately resulted in successfully acquiring the Seattle Pilots in 1970, to our great teams from the late 1970s through the early '90s, and our trip to the World Series in 1982, to the difficult process during the 1990s of seeking approval for the construction of a new ballpark and finally seeing Miller Park become a reality in 2001.
But above all, I will always remember with great fondness my relationship with the baseball fans of Milwaukee over two generations and with those players and employees who called Milwaukee home. I have been most fortunate to have several of baseball's greatest players - Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount, and Paul Molitor, among others - not only play for me but also become like family to me. I am also gratified to have had a long and lasting relationship with Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker.
Now it is time for me to formally sever my ties to the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club. It is the correct decision for myself, my family and, while I have played no role in the administration of the Brewers since putting my ownership share in trust in 1998, I am convinced and have been for many years that it is in the best interests of the game. As commissioner, it is inappropriate for me to root for any one club, but I must admit, and I hope people will understand, that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brew/jan04/200437.asp
Brewers announce team is for sale
By DON WALKER
dwalker@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 16, 2004
The Milwaukee Brewers are for sale.
Online Poll
Do you want Bud Selig and the other owners to sell the team?
Yes (89.1%)
No (10.9%)
Total votes: 3,028
Wendy Selig-Prieb, chairman of the team's board of directors, made the announcement at an afternoon news conference, saying the decision was in the best interest of baseball in Milwaukee.
"The unrelenting desire of our ownership group to bring baseball back to our community some 35 years ago has been surpassed only by their unwavering commitment to preserve major league baseball in our community," said said.
"While the ownership may be changing Brewers baseball will remain an important part of the fabric of our community."
Board member Michael Grebe said the decision was "clearly in the long-term best interests of baseball here in Milwaukee."
The board has retained Allen & Company, a New York investment banking firm that has expertise in the sales of professional sports franchises, to pursue a deal.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig holds the largest share of the Brewers, believed to be between 26% and 30% of the team. Twelve other individuals or trusts make up the rest of the ownership group.
According to a source familiar with team valuations, the Brewers franchise is valued between $180 million and $200 million.
Grebe said it was unclear whether the board would find a local entity to buy the team. He noted the last two major league clubs sold, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins, went to outside investors.
"Obviously, no process like this can be limited only to local ownership," he said.
Selig has owned a share of the Brewers since 1970, when an organization led by Selig and Edmund Fitzgerald acquired the faltering Seattle Pilots and moved them to Milwaukee. Selig's initial investment was $300,000.
Selig was in Arizona for the winter meeting of baseball owners but released a statement.
"While it is personally difficult for me to bring to an end a 40-year association with Major League Baseball in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, this decision is one that I have seriously considered and strongly desired since I was elected commissioner six years ago," Selig said.
"With the future of Brewer baseball solidified in Wisconsin, my overriding concern has been met."
Selig had made no comment on his Brewers holdings in many months. His shares are held in a voting trust that is controlled by two of his friends, John Canning and Mitchell Fromstein.
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) retained Allen & Company last year to handle his planned sale of the Milwaukee Bucks. Kohl later changed his mind and took the team off the market. Allen also is handling the still pending sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The announcement from the Brewers comes after a tumultuous off-season that included the departure of Ulice Payne Jr., the team's former president and CEO, and fan anger over what many felt was a lack of commitment by the Brewers to field a competitive team.
Payne had raised concerns publicly about the team's future direction after he and the board signed off on budget cuts that would drop the Brewers' payroll to as low as $30 million.
Payne later reached a severance agreement with the franchise.
Complete coverage of this story will appear online later today and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.
Selig Leasing Company, Inc.
Statement from Bud Selig
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig released the following statement in connection with the announcement that the Milwaukee Brewers were for sale:
I am in full accord and very pleased with the decision of the board of the Milwaukee Brewers to pursue the sale of the club. While it is personally difficult for me to bring to an end a 40-year association with Major League Baseball in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, this decision is one that I have seriously considered and strongly desired since I was elected commissioner six years ago. With the future of Brewer baseball solidified in Wisconsin, my overriding concern has been met.
I have many wonderful and lasting memories of my time with the Brewers: from the five and a half year struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds to return Major League Baseball to Milwaukee in the 1960s which ultimately resulted in successfully acquiring the Seattle Pilots in 1970, to our great teams from the late 1970s through the early '90s, and our trip to the World Series in 1982, to the difficult process during the 1990s of seeking approval for the construction of a new ballpark and finally seeing Miller Park become a reality in 2001.
But above all, I will always remember with great fondness my relationship with the baseball fans of Milwaukee over two generations and with those players and employees who called Milwaukee home. I have been most fortunate to have several of baseball's greatest players - Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount, and Paul Molitor, among others - not only play for me but also become like family to me. I am also gratified to have had a long and lasting relationship with Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker.
Now it is time for me to formally sever my ties to the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club. It is the correct decision for myself, my family and, while I have played no role in the administration of the Brewers since putting my ownership share in trust in 1998, I am convinced and have been for many years that it is in the best interests of the game. As commissioner, it is inappropriate for me to root for any one club, but I must admit, and I hope people will understand, that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brew/jan04/200437.asp
Brewers announce team is for sale
By DON WALKER
dwalker@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 16, 2004
The Milwaukee Brewers are for sale.
Online Poll
Do you want Bud Selig and the other owners to sell the team?
Yes (89.1%)
No (10.9%)
Total votes: 3,028
Wendy Selig-Prieb, chairman of the team's board of directors, made the announcement at an afternoon news conference, saying the decision was in the best interest of baseball in Milwaukee.
"The unrelenting desire of our ownership group to bring baseball back to our community some 35 years ago has been surpassed only by their unwavering commitment to preserve major league baseball in our community," said said.
"While the ownership may be changing Brewers baseball will remain an important part of the fabric of our community."
Board member Michael Grebe said the decision was "clearly in the long-term best interests of baseball here in Milwaukee."
The board has retained Allen & Company, a New York investment banking firm that has expertise in the sales of professional sports franchises, to pursue a deal.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig holds the largest share of the Brewers, believed to be between 26% and 30% of the team. Twelve other individuals or trusts make up the rest of the ownership group.
According to a source familiar with team valuations, the Brewers franchise is valued between $180 million and $200 million.
Grebe said it was unclear whether the board would find a local entity to buy the team. He noted the last two major league clubs sold, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins, went to outside investors.
"Obviously, no process like this can be limited only to local ownership," he said.
Selig has owned a share of the Brewers since 1970, when an organization led by Selig and Edmund Fitzgerald acquired the faltering Seattle Pilots and moved them to Milwaukee. Selig's initial investment was $300,000.
Selig was in Arizona for the winter meeting of baseball owners but released a statement.
"While it is personally difficult for me to bring to an end a 40-year association with Major League Baseball in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, this decision is one that I have seriously considered and strongly desired since I was elected commissioner six years ago," Selig said.
"With the future of Brewer baseball solidified in Wisconsin, my overriding concern has been met."
Selig had made no comment on his Brewers holdings in many months. His shares are held in a voting trust that is controlled by two of his friends, John Canning and Mitchell Fromstein.
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) retained Allen & Company last year to handle his planned sale of the Milwaukee Bucks. Kohl later changed his mind and took the team off the market. Allen also is handling the still pending sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The announcement from the Brewers comes after a tumultuous off-season that included the departure of Ulice Payne Jr., the team's former president and CEO, and fan anger over what many felt was a lack of commitment by the Brewers to field a competitive team.
Payne had raised concerns publicly about the team's future direction after he and the board signed off on budget cuts that would drop the Brewers' payroll to as low as $30 million.
Payne later reached a severance agreement with the franchise.
Complete coverage of this story will appear online later today and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.
Maybe that will help the Brew Crew get out of the dumps once they are sold.
Seriously though - they have some major talent coming up through their farm system with Prince Fielder and Rickie Weekes, and ..... some one else I can not remember....
Seriously though - they have some major talent coming up through their farm system with Prince Fielder and Rickie Weekes, and ..... some one else I can not remember....
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