The Miami Marlins may be changing hands for a whopping price of $1.6 billion.
According to Mike Ozanian of Forbes, there is a handshake deal in place to sell the Miami Marlins for $1.6 billion. Ozanian reports that two anonymous sources report that Marlins team president David Samson confirmed the agreement is in place. Current owner Jeffrey Loria bought the team for $158 million back in 2002.
From Ozanian’s story:
"My sources would not say who the $1.6 billion handshake agreement was with other than he is a real estate developer based in New York City. The problem, according to these sources, is the potential buyer is not liquid, meaning he does not have the cash to buy the Marlins because his net worth is tied up in real estate. Thus, for the real estate developer to purchase the Marlins would likely require more debt than MLB would be comfortable with."
Under Loria, the Marlins have been a financial disaster and a PR nightmare. The team won the World Series in 2003, but have not returned to the playoffs since. Along the way, there have been several total teardowns of the roster. The Marlins have not finished with a winning record since 2009.
In 2012, the Marlins moved into a gleaming new ballpark, with many artistic flourishes inspired by Loria, who made his fortune as an art dealer. The new stadium cost $639 million, and was financed almost entirely with taxpayer funds. By the time the bonds used to fund the stadium are paid back, the City of Miami will have paid over $2 billion for the new park. In an effort to be competitive in the first year of the new park, Loria authorized big signings, including shortstop Jose Reyes and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle. After a last place finish, the roster was stripped down again, leaving many with a poor taste in their mouth.
“We are in business to make money,” Samson, said in an interview before the 2012 season. “Everyone could have built it with their own money. But you don’t do that.”
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If the deal goes through, and Loria is out of the picture, baseball fans in Miami will likely rejoice. Whether or not any real fans remain after years of alienating behavior by ownership remains to be seen. The Marlins were last in the National League in attendance in 2016.