11:06 PM
10/17/24
10/17/24
July 03, 2024
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
So you're predicting that the Celtics will not start cheaping out on the lineup? Jaylen Brown aside. Tatum will probably get paid more than that.
posted by NoMich at 09:06 AM on July 05, 2024
About time this season ticket member weighed in on the pending sale of the Celtics. I'm on vacation (like I really need one since I'm retired) up here in the White Mountains of NH. We come up here often, and it's a very beautiful and peaceful spot.
Now, about the Celtics: First of all, Wyc (short for Wycliffe, if you must) Grousbeck is selling only the part of the Celtics that belongs directly to him and his father. The rest of the minority owners' shares are not being sold unless they want to opt in on the deal. Steve Pagliuca, the Managing General Partner and co-owner of the Celtics has said that he will retain his interest and along with some of the other owners will take an active part in the bidding for the Grousbeck shares. Pagliuca is the leader of a group of investors who purchased the Italian Serie A football club Atalanta. He has said that he shares Grousbeck's commitment to keeping the Celtics a winning and championship team.
A number of other possible buyers has been put forward. John Henry's Fenway Sports Group is one. This is the lest desirable among the fans, who look at Henry's recent penny-pinching ways with the Red Sox and fear what he might do to the Celtics. An intriguing possibility would have the Wynn Casino group purchasing the team and moving them to a proposed new arena located near the Wynn Encore Hotel and Casino. Encore is in Everett, MA, just 4 stops on the MBTA Orange Line from North Station and TD Garden. The Celtics lease with Delaware North, owned by the Jacobs family who also own the Boston Bruins of the NHL, was recently renewed to run through 2036. Having their own arena would contribute greatly to the financial health of the team. A few other names put forward were Robert Kraft of Patriots fame, and Tom Brady. Kraft could probably handle the deal financially, but he has made no public comment. Brady would have to come up with a group to handle something this big.
Grousbeck says that the sale would not be complete until 2028, and that it is being done for the purpose of estate planning. I can understand how that might take 4 years. Our family just went through the planning of our modest chunk of change, and the process with a good lawyer took about 4 months.