ESPN Dallas writer Richard Durrett writes, "Hicks Sports Group was forced to sell majority stake in the club after defaulting on a $525 million loan early last year. Major League Baseball eventually had to step in and infuse some money into the club."
Schoenfeld writes, "The Rangers are now in limbo as MLB and a potential new ownership group fronted by Chuck Greenberg attempt to convince creditors to allow Hicks to close a sale with a purchaser who may not be the highest bidder. The Stars are also likely to be sold soon, which would please the NHL. “The feeling in the league office is that the problem isn’t the market, it’s Hicks,” said a league insider, who has served as an executive with several teams, of the declining revenue in Dallas. “He needs to be gone.”"Hicks ownership style and method of purchasing and funding his sports teams has proven to be a joke and the down turn in the economy starting in 2008 has surely contributed to the struggles of the teams. But the struggles are not related to the fans but instead of how the deals were structured using debt. Hicks comments on this in the Sports Business Journal, "By using debt to acquire all three franchises in the manner of a leveraged buyout, Hicks’ exit strategy was always going to be to sell them. Professional sports teams aren’t likely to generate enough profit to even service such debt, let alone pay it down. “This was never going to be a dynastic asset,” Hicks told SportsBusiness Journal last month."
As a huge Rangers fan I hope that the Rangers are sold soon so that the Rangers can be more flexible to make roster changes as needed without as much concern for the ledger. Come on MLB take control of the team and close this deal. Please!
