Add Los Angeles Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter to the list of heavy hitters, including a number of Major League Baseball players, who are trying to buy Chelsea Football Club.
According to a source familiar with the bidding process, Walter is joining the bidding led by Todd Boehley, one of his partners in the Dodgers' Guggenheim ownership. The group is one of four that want to buy Chelsea from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, sanctioned by the British government in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Ricketts family, who owns the Chicago Cubs, is also among the bidders, as is David Blitzer, the pending minority owner of the Cleveland Guardians. Blitzer's firm, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Blitzer, if approved by MLB, would gain parental majority control in five to six years.
Boehly is considered a Chelsea buy favourite. According to Forbes, the addition of Walter, who has a real-time net worth of $4.4 billion, figures to put Bohli Group on an even stronger financial footing, according to Forbes.
Adding Walter of Bohli the timing is critical: Next week is the deadline for forwarding its final offer to the Rhine Group, the New York-based bank that conducts the sale process for bidders. Boehly was in London this week after attending Chelsea's 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League competition, meeting with Chelsea executives on Thursday.
A winning bid by Boehly would keep the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox ownership of rivals in the Premier League; Red Sox owner John Henry is the principal owner of Liverpool Football Club. The Rhine Group is expected to submit the name of the preferred bidder to the Government of the United Kingdom on 18 April. The government would have to grant a special license to sell the club due to sanctions against Abramovich, but approval is not expected to be a problem. The Premier League should also sign the purchase.
Dodgers executives believe that the method they use in baseball will translate well to soccer. In the nearly 10 years since Guggenheim Baseball Management took official control of the franchise for $2.15 billion, the team has enjoyed on-field success, updating Dodger Stadium and undertaking extensive renovations to increase the team's investment in the community.
“We focused on the team. We focused on the fans in the stadium. Then we focused on the community,” said team president Stan Castane. “The thing that made me most proud of my colleagues, That is, the day we first took over, we clearly stated all those things. And he has lived it.
"A plan like this is easy to articulate. It's extremely difficult to execute, especially on an ongoing basis."
Guggenheim's tenure has not been without issues, most notably signing pitcher Trevor Bauer to a three-year, $102 million free-agent contract. Bauer remains on paid administrative leave in connection with the sexual assault allegations made against him last summer and awaits Major League Baseball's decision on whether he should be charged with his joint domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual assault with the Players Association. be suspended for violating the child abuse policy. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office declined to file criminal charges against Bauer, but under joint policy, the league can suspend a player even if he is not charged with or convicted of a crime. has been ordained.
On the field, the Dodgers under Guggenheim have emerged as the most efficient organization in the game, making the playoffs nine years straight and winning their first World Series title since 1988 in the pandemic-less 2020 season. This season, they will feature the four Most Valuable Player winners they either developed or acquired – pitcher Clayton Kershaw, outfielders Mookie Bates and Cody Bellinger, and first baseman Freddie Freeman.
The team's refurbishment at Dodger Stadium helped make the park, the third oldest park among the majors, best attended by the majors every year since 2013. And according to the club, its philanthropic efforts have included investments of more than $40 million in programs and grants to local organizations over the past decade. Of that amount, $14.9 million was devoted to the construction of 57 Dodgers Dreamfields, which consisted of two universally accessible areas, giving 400,000 children access to advanced areas in their neighborhoods.
"We followed some very basic premises," Kasten said. “Hire the best people throughout the organization. And give them the resources to get the job done.”