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Today the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with owner Frank McCourt claiming that the cause was Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's unwillingness to approve the proposed television deal with Fox, according to the L.A. Times.
"This morning's filing lists assets of as much as $1 billion and debt of as much as $500 million," explains LA Observed.
A Dodgers news release explains what today's filing means for the team and fans in the immediate future:
Operating under Chapter 11, the Los Angeles Dodgers have received a commitment for $150 million in Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing. This financing will enable the Dodger organization to fully meet its obligations going forward. There will be no disruption to the Dodgers day-to-day business, the baseball team, or to the Dodger fans.
In that same release, McCourt made the following statement:
“The Dodgers have delivered time and again since I became owner, and that’s been good for baseball. We turned the team around financially after years of annual losses before I purchased the team. We invested $150 million in the stadium. We’ve had excellent on-field performance, including playoff appearances four times in seven years. And we brought the Commissioner a media rights deal that would have solved the cash flow challenge I presented to him a year ago, when his leadership team called us a ‘model franchise.’ Yet he’s turned his back on the Dodgers, treated us differently, and forced us to the point we find ourselves in today. I simply cannot allow the Commissioner to knowingly and intentionally be in a position to expose the Dodgers to financial risk any longer. It is my hope that the Chapter 11 process will create a fair and constructive environment to get done what we couldn’t achieve with the Commissioner directly.”
McCourt adds that filing for Chapter 11 protection is a means to "long-term success" for th team's finances. "The process will allow us to focus on maximizing value in a manner that is transparent and driven by the best interests of the Los Angeles Dodgers and our fans,” said MCourt.
