Just coming across the wire is a report by CNBC sports business stud Darren Rovell, who says that the Golden State Warriors are being sold for a a record $450 million. While it was almost assumed that the winning bid would be put forth by Oracle head honcho and billionaire Larry Ellison, it now appears that the winner is a group headed by Kleiner Perkins managing partner Joe Lacob and Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment.
Mandalay is the interesting piece here, since they’ve been acquiring minor league franchises by the truckload over the last several years. They even have a history in the Bay Area, as they almost bought the A’s from Schott/Hofmann in 2001. Now that they’re in charge, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with it. Note: Mandalay is not affiliated with the Mandalay Bay casino, which is owned by MGM/Mirage.
Update 1:13 PM – Now the other shoe drops. Tim Kawakami has just posted a Twitter update with a quote from Larry Ellison:
Whoa. Ellison statement: “Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else.”
Kawakami also has a blog post explaining further, with a full statement:
“Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else. In my experience this is a bit unusual. Nonetheless, I wish the Warriors and their fans nothing but success under their new ownership,” said Larry Ellison.
Cohan decides not to sell to Ellison out of spite? What a jerk.
Update 1:27 PM – Damon Bruce is lining up Sal Galatioto, head of Galatioto Sports Partners, the firm hired to broker the sale. Also, Darren Rovell has a followup on Twitter:
Ellison’s bid was a few million more, but it was too late. Bid was put in hours before agreement was signed w/Lacob+Guber
Hours before? Something smells fishy…
Update 1:49 PM – Galatioto was just interviewed on KNBR-1050 by Damon Bruce. He refuted Ellison’s assertion, saying that Ellison’s bad was late by weeks, not by hours. He said that Ellison tried to disrupt the negotiation process after the bids were submitted and narrowed down. If true, it seems to fit Ellison’s M.O. Not saying that this doesn’t happen from time to time, it’s just that Galatioto Sports had to follow its own rules. Better luck next time, Larry.
Just wondering: What happens to naming rights on the arena?
newballpark.org 
Maybe Ellison can buy the A’s from Wolff instead and move them to San Jose. Somehow I don’t think Ellison would run into much opposition from anybody.
Or, Larry could buy the Kings and move them to San Jose. How could the NBA say this infringes on Warriors territory (haven’t we had these territory conversations before?) when the Nets are moving closer to the Knicks and the Lakers and Clippers play in the same building?
Hats off to Larry for refusing to overpay. Cohan already is being rewarded too much for his dismal ownership of the Warriors. (No Warrior All Star in 15 years, I read the other day.)
@Dan – If Wolff can’t complete the gauntlet required to get a SJ ballpark built, how could Ellison?
@pjk – The Maloofs are laying low and not selling, at least not until after the next CBA.
Fine by me. I still hold out hope that Larry buys the Niners. Buying the Warriors might have diminished his motivation to pursue them if the opportunity arises. Not that I expect the Yorks to do us all a favor and sell or anything…
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I’ve never heard Larry say he was interested in a baseball team, but I’d be happy with him as owner of the A’s too. Not that I have any major issues with the current ownership group, mind you. It’s not like I get my headwear from Reynolds Wrap or anything.
WHAT?!!! Almost as much of a shock as Tom Bradley not winning the gubernatorial race back in the day. So does the new ownership group still build an arena at SF China Basin? Now this is interesting.
Alright, I’ll say it: MOVE THE WARRIORS TO SAN JOSE/THE TANK! Glad I got that off my chest.
What would be the point of that? Kings would make more sense.
Wow Cohan is a jerk.
Larry’s 0-2 offering more money for the Sonics also–with the intent to move them to SJ—-it will be interesting to see what the ultimate competitior does going foward
I’ll say it first. The “Oracle” Arena won’t exist next season. Maybe we can get Larry to put his name on the new Earthquakes soccer stadium or the Coliseum instead.
Cohen even when selling the team, still manages a way to screw the W’s fans
wasn’t it Cohen who was also caught by the IRS for tax evasion, must have had some under the table cash deal with the winning bidder.
Ralph 1248,
I’ll take the Kings! Anything for more foot traffic/critical mass in downtown SJ.
a’s with one foot out the door. warriors probably open to moving and the raiders . . . well, they’ve done it before. that whole coli complex has the potential to be a painful reminder of what was back in the day. urban blight anyone?”
A Little off topic but…has anyone read Lew’s Letter yet?
@LeAndre – I thought that letter was from the beginning of the season.
crister, Tony D, Dan, pjk, etc (you know who you are)……I understand that you really want A’s to move to San Jose. I see that it’s very important issue for you….almost bordering on obsession. But in your desires for the team move to San Jose… I don’t understand why feel you have to continually bash Oakland in the process. Historically, when the product on the field was good, Oakland has done a pretty good job supporting its major league sports teams. And at least Oakland isn’t (nor has been) the epicenter of minor league sports. For example, when most people think of any minor league sports towns in the Bay Area, you always think of San Jose. From professional badminton, lacrosse to roller hockey, San Jose has always been first in line trying to attract those types of teams to its city. And I commend the San Jose fans for its outstanding support of those minor league teams. I mean neither Oakland nor San Francisco fans would have the nerve to pack an arena to watch the Stealth lacrosse team. But the San Jose fans have done it, and I have to tip my hat off to you. But no matter how much San Jose folks want to bash other cities in an attempt to feel good about there own city and no matter how badly San Jose and its citizens want (or need) to be viewed as a major league city, the city will always be minor league in the eyes of the world. Whether or not the A’s move to San Jose, will not change that perception. I know San Jose well. My office has been in downtown San Jose for years. So let’s stop with the bashing of Oakland, San Francisco or San Jose. That’s not cool.
“…no matter how badly San Jose and its citizens want (or need) to be viewed as a major league city, the city will always be minor league in the eyes of the world.”
Followed by…
“So let’s stop with the bashing of Oakland, San Francisco or San Jose. That’s not cool.”
No, Dennis H. It certainly is not.
DennisH,
It is not “bashing” Oakland to point out that the City of Oakland and its officials have thumbed their collective noses at the A’s since Jerry Brown fired Robert Bobb for advocating an A’s stadium in Oaktown over Jerry’s housing project.
It is not bashing to say that there is no political will to build a stadium in Oakland; meaningless press conferences pointing out places they “could” build a stadium, places that are owned by others who by and large are unwilling to sell, do not count as political will.
Look, I grew up on Kelly Avenue in San Leandro and spent my summers at the Coliseum, a quick Bart ride over from the Bayfair mall (no other SL stops when I was a kid, IIRC). I just want the A’s to stay in the bay area. I’ve felt the pain of a team leaving a community (Raiders to Los Angeles).
This is NOT the same.
calm down there fanboy. i’m an oakland native and have been going to a’s games since 87. i was there when big red hit that walk off homer to beat the dodgers for the only series win in 88. when rickey be rickey broke cobb’s al stolen base record and when stew busted out his inner kung fu fighter on … whatever, some dude from cleveland. get knocked out in front of thousands without even throwing a punch and you don’t deserve to have your name remembered anyway.
i’m a stay in oakland advicate and want nothing more than for my home team to keep on being my home team, but rose colored glasses and hope can’t replace uncomfortable realities. oakland’s broke. the atmosphere isn’t good. the north coli sight plan which was up till now the best and most tangible plan appears to be long dead and with the montrealization of the team, fanbase and community… so on and so on. who knows, letting the giants go to florida way back when would have probably been the best thing for oakland, but alas, you can’t reach into the past now can you.
ML, oops I think your right. I remember now…back on topic: Does anyone know if Lacob has any intentions on moving the team to SF and building an arena next to ATT? We’ve constantly heard rumors, but most of them if not all, were associated with Ellison…Does Lacob even have the money to foot something like that anyway?
@LeAndre – Whether the new owners were Lacob/Guber or Ellison, they’d look to maximize local revenue. Maybe not right away, but within 2-3 years. I doubt any serious discussion of moving a team could materialize until after the 2011 (2012?) CBA is ratified. Right now, it’s looking a lot more like there will be a lockout – and a lengthy one at that. While the negotiations will be focused largely on player salaries, revenue shares could be an issue so it would be premature to do anything venue-wise until a new CBA is ratified.
ML, Hopefully a lockout doesn’t happen but I agree with you, a lockout seems to be on the horizon…With that being said, I’m speaking in future terms. Of course Lacob will be looking to maximize local revenue but it doesn’t necessarily mean he has to build a new arena in SF, and it doesn’t necessarily mean he intends to…Even though Ellison never publicly said he had those plans in his vision, I could see him pulling something of that magnitude off considering his wealth and connections…Privately financing an arena seems more than possible for him…Lacob/Guber are a different story. They are obviously wealthy in their own right, but don’t have the same ties with the local corporations like Ellison, and not nearly as much money…nor have any of the new arena rumors included their names. One things for sure, they will look to increase the value of the team. Its safe to say they’ve done that just by being a change in ownership
Oracle’s naming deal is 10 years starting in 2006, according to Wikipedia. I guess Larry could try to break his contract but I don’t think that would be a smart move. Two weeks late? Could Larry really have thought he could circumvent the process and just top the best offer? Maybe he thought he knew Cohan better than he really did.
Personally, I wasn’t giving a Mission Bay arena much chance of actually happening. The city doesn’t really need an NBA-sized arena. There’s plenty of development and tax revenue to be made for the city without it, and it’s well served by the two the region has. So I don’t see the city footing much, if any of the bill. I can see where the team owner would like that, but would it increase the value of the franchise enough to pay for it? A guy like Larry can afford it. But is he that strongly pulled to SF? I can’t say. I can infer this: if he had bought the team, nothing seems to be pushing him out of Oakland. He clearly has no problem associating himself and his company with Oakland and as far as I know the Warriors have a decent lease deal.
Of course, that’s all moot if Lacob/Guber can’t finance an arena anyway. However, Lacob is a major Silicon Valley VC guy. You better believe he can work a deal and is plenty well connected.
re: the city will always be minor league in the eyes of the world.
San Jose has filled its arena for the major league Sharks to 100% capacity. The A’s (and Raiders) have had lousy attendance for 15 to 20 years. Which city is minor league again?
San Jose has been carefully assembling downtown property for an A’s stadium. What’s Oakland done? Turned its ballpark into a football stadium and fired the city manager for daring to suggest that downtown Oakland might be a good spot for the A’s.
Where are the 49ers moving? Oh that’s right- about 1 mile from San Jose.
Frisco and Oakland were the top Bay Area cities – 50 years ago. Now, it’s San Jose.
And the minor league Stealth bombed in San Jose, BTW
Minor league city may have been too far. But it does seem obvious that some people want them to move so they can help San Jose get on the map as a top sports city. Completely understandable. Oakland could very well lose the A’s, gaining San Jose a team. Or the A’s could stay, and San Jose will have lost something it never had.
As I’ve said before, talk of a new arena in Frisco scares me, since they will want both NBA and NHL tenants. The Sharks lease expires in 2017 or 2018, when San Jose’s arena will be 25 years old. And there’s no airport curfew at Frisco’s airport.
@pjk – If you feel like fitting the tinfoil hat on really tight, it should be pointed out that both Joe Lacob and Kevin Compton (head partner of the Sharks/SVSE) are KPCB partners.
@pjk- how would an airport curfew be a deciding factor on where to locate a franchise…doubt that fits into any criteria
The airport curfew has been a sore point for the NHL for years. People like Mike Keenan (coach of several different teams over the years) have complained about it. The Red Wings recently were fined for breaking it. The Sharks have had to live with it; local politicians once took pride in rubbing the Sharks nose in it for violating the curfew. 11:30 pm closure for the airport is not compatible with professional sports.
FWIW, Frisco arena advocates already approached the Sharks several years ago but that project never got off the ground. Most likely because they stood no chance of getting NHL or NBA anchor tenants at the time.
What does work in San Jose’s favor is the Sharks spent $35 mill of their own money on the arena and don’t have to be subordinate to an NBA tenant.
@pjk–not to mention their ownership group includes a former mayor of SJ…that they are in the market that some/many local franchises want to be (‘9ers, A’s and who knows about W’s)….that they consistently sell out. The Tank was ranked by NHL players as the toughest to play at because of the passion of the crowd…..SF may be a beautiful city…great for tourists… but its not a sports town
Oracle Park at Jack London Square!
@hecanfoos–yup—I can see Larry investing $500M of his own money to build that ballpark—goodluck on that pipedream.
SF may be a beautiful city…great for tourists… but its not a sports town
…I couldn’t agree more. Frisco is the Worst Sports Town in the USA bar none. They are losing their football team and no one there much cares. The baseball team had to build its own stadium because Friscans were perfectly content to let the team leave rather than give any tax dollars. And which city is the largest in the country without a sports arena? It’s Frisco again…
You know, I’m on the San Jose A’s side, but this “Frisco” stuff is just hate speech.
You’d prefer they use “Baghdad by the Bay”?
FWIW, the term “hate speech” scares me because it is used by opponents of the First Amendment. By people who believe no one should have a right to disagree with them. Scary stuff indeed….
“Joe Lacob and Kevin Compton (head partner of the Sharks/SVSE) are KPCB partners.”
I’m liking the new ownership group already! Putting my transportation geek hat on (R.M. knows about this all to well); why not use Moffet Field for our sports team aviation needs? Lot’s of room out there for their aircraft usage, and landings/take-offs between the hours of 1100-700 could be over the bay only, as wind conditions during those times are relatively light (you won’t having NIMBY’s screaming in Sunnyvale).
One more thing: HP Pavilion could always undergo a major renovation; kind of like what happened with Oakland Arena back in the 90’s. HP isn’t a bad venue compared with newer arena’s, so maybe a “major” isn’t really needed. Thoughts R.M.? (or anyone)
Interesting point on Moffet Field Tony. Might be an option.
@Tony D. – Stop. Moffett is not going to become a general aviation airport. We’ve discussed this enough previously.
Who knows what the future holds, but HP Pavilion is in fine shape and SVSE seems to have a pretty good deal there. If the city and SVSE keep the place well maintained and implement the occasional capital improvement project (like the new screens and ribbons they installed not long ago) I see nothing on the immediate horizon to drive the Sharks into a new arena.
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Frankly though, I find all this arena speculation kind of pointless. Both of our large arenas are up to date and neither is lacking in a significant way. I don’t think the region needs a third: HP is close to booked, but not entirely and Oracle has enough availability. Not sure why so many people are gung ho to get another one built when we desperately need a new baseball facility and at least one football stadium.
R.M.,
Just have Lacob, Wolff and perhaps Yorks place NASA scientific “experiments” on their corporate/team jets and it’s all good for Moffet usage! Worked for the Google boys and their 767.
Oops, forgot to throw in the Sharks Jamison and their old ass 727.
If the A’s went to San Jose, what are the chances that they and the Sharks could convince San Jose to allow sports teams to use the air port after curfew with special restrictions? For example, it could be that only flights after curfew would be specially classed flights.
An exemption was sought for the Sharks. I think the word came back, if you exempt one party, you exempt all of them. And bye bye curfew. The flight path of San Jose’s airport goes right through many miles of neighborhoods and the downtown, too.
The Sharks are now using a quieter plane that they lease from the deactivated San Jose Sabrecats. Imagine that. An arena football league team, featuring guys not good enough for the NFL or CFL, has had a better private jet than an NHL team, where the players are all millionaires.
The Sabercats will be coming back in 2011 with Darren Arbet taking a larger role. The Sharks will have to figure something else out re: curfew exemptions.
The Sabrecats had a certain number of exemptions, but it was not unlimited. I don’t know how much quieter the plane is.
I hate sjc… Wish they’d move it to gilroy/hollister
Larry E,
Here’s my email address: adominguez69@verizon.net
Got something to show you if your interested (R.M. knows all to well about my SJC “ideas”). By the way, good editorial in the Merc today re: the Warriors and possibility of playing in SJ.
What’s Gilroy? 35 miles from downtown San Jose? Hollister is even further. Think the folks in Hollister and Gilroy might sue over any proposal to move SJ airport down there? Won’t happen anyway since SJ just spent $1.1 billion on its underutilized airport.
I think it took Denver something like 30 years to re-site its airport.
Pjk- just wishful thinking on my part. I know it won’t happen in my lifetime. I just don’ti like sjc’s location that’s all. Tony, I’ll email you tonight. Can’t wait to see what you got!