The new Baltimore Orioles ownership group is an exclusive club, led by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein. Three Ares Management executives bring their credit expertise to the Orioles. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is in, as is baseball great Cal Ripkin and basketball legend Grant Hill.
Forbes reported:
The agreement unlocked $600 million in public funding for upgrades to the ballpark. As part of the 30-year deal, there is an option to end it after 15 years if the franchise does not receive state approval to develop parcels of land surrounding Camden Yards.
Carlyle just saved a luxury high rise in the Upper West Side of New York City. Rents in The Aire are sky level:
$3,825 a month for a sub-400-square-foot studio to $13,000 a month for a three-bed, three-bath unit spanning 1,400 feetTickets to professional games are unaffordable for families (CNN).
Through public-private partnerships, the Orioles, organizations throughout Baltimore, and people in the area can renew efforts in using Camden Yards as a hub for economic development, social impact, and community benefits.The Baltimore Sun reported state officials were blindsided by the deal.
State leaders did not learn of the sale until Tuesday evening when news outlets began to report on it. The agreement comes less than two months after Angelos told Moore in a phone call that he would not be selling the team, according to a source familiar with the call.
The PEU boys don't ask for permission. Look for any Carlyle, Ares or Declaration Partners tie up to Camden Yards development.
Time will tell if $600 million in public funding actually helps local citizens. I think it's going to be a long time coming.
Update 2-6-24: CBS News reported lead owner David Rubenstein wrote about the Orioles PEU sellout.
Our collective goal will be to bring a World Series trophy back to the City of Baltimore.
"In his statement, Rubenstein referenced development opportunities around the ballpark.
A Forbes sports reporter wrote:
"I would hope for Baltimore fans that a new, rich owner coming in means a lot more spending on players, stadium, and all other resources, but I guess we'll have to wait and see."
Snort. I expect a business reporter to know a bit more about private equity. The PEU model generally involves siphoning off large amounts of cash while spending way more on interest expenses. Those two priorities often bode poorly for employees (players) and capital expenditures (facility updates).
The public is on the hook for $600 million, which surely enticed the new PEU Club ownership group.
Update 2-12-24: CNN reported:
Professional sports teams are becoming real estate empires, building luxury apartments and shopping malls.
Billionaire owners have built dozens of new stadiums and arenas, often with hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. State and local governments spent $33 billion in public funds to build stadiums in North America between 1970 and 2020, with the median public contribution covering 73% of costs, a study published last year found. As part of teams’ agreements with cities and states, they have been handed the rights to transform the land around these ballparks into offices, apartment buildings, hotels and shopping malls.
David Rubenstein cut his PEU teeth selling Alaskan Native tax losses to corporations. Surely he can take advantage of a few poor people who live around a ballpark by making the area more billionaire friendly.
Carlyle did a joint venture with Atlantic Realty Partners in 2014 for apartments close to the new Atlanta Braves stadium.
