Expert: Braves fans should be wary

[cablewithaview]

Time Warner will be tough act to follow

ATLANTA - Word broke recently that the Atlanta Braves were for sale. Sal Galatioto, who sells sports teams for a living, is amused by how gladly the news of Time Warner's selling has been received in Atlanta.

"It's not as if they've mismanaged the team," he said. "Why is everyone so happy? How much better is a new owner going to do than winning 14 years in a row?"

Time Warner is joining the Disney Co. and Fox Entertainment Group -- and CBS 32 years ago with the Yankees -- as another conglomerate to sell. The lesson: Expectation of fans and expectations of stockholders rarely intersect.

Four teams remain under corporate control: the Cubs (Tribune Co.), Seattle (Nintendo), Washington (Major League Baseball) and Toronto (Rogers Communications).

No matter who buys the Braves, attendance, and how to sustain it, will be an issue.

Though the club was able to report an 8.6 percent increase at the gate last season (with attendance of 2.52 million, Atlanta ranked 15th in the majors), that jump came after seven straight years of declines. The boost also came with a cost: $18 million in improvements to Turner Field.

Another headache is the pending losses of general manager John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox. Both are in their mid-60s, entering the final year of their respective contracts, and dodging questions about retirement.

Galatioto predicts interest in the Braves will be vast. He also has a warning:

"People forget what it was like before this run. The team was terrible," he said. "And there's no guarantee that you won't go back to that. See, that's what people don't get. There's no God-given right that the Braves are going to be on top of the division every year. It's just hard work and good management."

http://www.broward.com/mld/charlott...413.htm?source=rss&channel=charlotte_baseball

 

[Purogamer]

Well, they've won for 14 years but that's the division, not the big ring. I think there's an optimism that a new owner can get them over that hump they seem to plateau on every year...

They got swept in 1999...
They lost 4-2 in 1996...
They Won 4-2 in 1995...(oh the pain...)
They lost 4-2 in 1992...
They lost 4-3 in 1991...

So in 14 years, they've only made it to the series 5 times (36%), and only won the thing once, a decade ago. They're teased every year and that really sucks. Ask a red sox fan how disappointing it is to be in the playoffs and not win the series...

 

[cablewithaview]

I'm a Red Sox fan myself, even though the Braves are my home team. It sucks when your so close and yet no cigar. I wonder though, would Ted Turner consider buying back the Braves and Turner South to get back into the biz and rebuild what he once had ???

 

[cablewithaview]

Sports Deals Come Naturally for Time Warner Adviser on Atlanta Braves Sale

Dec. 23--Steve Greenberg, the man hired to help Time Warner explore a possible sale of the Atlanta Braves and Turner South, seems all but built to handle big-time deals in the business of sports.

He's the son of Hank Greenberg, a baseball Hall of Famer who spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers. After graduating from Yale in 1970, Steve played pro baseball himself, reaching the Triple A level in the Texas Rangers system.

Greenberg earned a law degree from UCLA, became a baseball agent and eventually served as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball under Fay Vincent. Greenberg then co-founded a pair of cable networks: CSTV, or College Sports TV, and what became ESPN Classic.

Now an executive at a small but powerful New York investment banking firm called Allen & Co., Greenberg, 57, has been involved in a number of baseball team sales, including those of the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. Being tapped to market the Braves and Turner South was no accident.

"Steve Greenberg is one of the best people I've ever known," said Vincent, the former baseball commissioner who now serves as a board member at Time Warner, among other things. "Beyond all the technical qualifications, he is enormously bright and he is extremely well-liked."

Though Allen & Co. was the firm tapped to seek a buyer for Turner South and the Braves, Greenberg is the big reason the investment bank is so prominent in sports. Don Keough, Allen & Co.'s chairman and a board member at Coca-Cola, said Greenberg's expertise draws people to him.

"Steve is the person involved in this assignment from Time Warner," Keough said. "It's in the right hands."

Turner Broadcasting, the Time Warner unit that runs the Braves, has said the primary reason the company is considering a sale involves the disappointing performance of cable network Turner South, which carries dozens of Braves games. Because the Braves are a key component of the deal, Greenberg's knowledge of both media and sports makes him uniquely qualified for the job.

"Steve has a wonderful background," said Peter Bavasi, a veteran of high-level posts with the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians. "I don't think there's another adviser quite like Steve."

Greenberg's pedigree in baseball, coupled with a long career in business, makes him a rare commodity. Longtime agent Arn Tellem, who represents athletes such as baseball players Hideki Matsui and Nomar Garciaparra, said Greenberg also is humble.

"He can communicate with anyone, whether it be a ballplayer or a billionaire owner," Tellem said.

When Greenberg joined Allen & Co. in 2002, he instantly boosted the firm's credibility in sports. A sale of the Braves and Turner South promises to be yet another high-profile deal. One expert pegs the value of the two properties at a combined $600 million.

Dozens might be interested in buying. With Turner South as a key component, a media company might be the most logical buyer, notably Comcast or News Corp., which owns Fox Sports Networks. But Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank also has said he's looking at the Braves.

In a recent interview, Greenberg said he had received "many, many calls" from potential buyers. The Braves are a strong franchise, he said, and there's a good market for baseball teams right now. Greenberg declined to comment, however, about possible suitors for the team or network and said his work with Time Warner wouldn't get beyond preliminary discussions until after the holidays.

"I just don't talk about specific buyers," Greenberg said. "I didn't do it in Cincinnati and Milwaukee. If people want to talk about themselves, I'm fine. I've got my head down, know what I need to do, and I just don't comment on who may or may not be interested."

Whoever the buyer turns out to be, assuming there is one, Turner Broadcasting wants to use the cash to stoke growth in the rest of its properties, which are generally performing far better than money-losing Turner South. Turner's operations include cable networks TNT, TBS, CNN and the Cartoon Network.

In an e-mail to employees last week, Turner Chairman and CEO Phil Kent said "the financial return we might realize" from a sale of the Braves and Turner South "could be reinvested in other assets to strengthen our networks and businesses and, ultimately, drive greater growth."

A sale might take a lot of time, however. Greenberg worked with Time Warner before when the company considered selling the Braves and Turner South in 2003. Nothing went through, however, as Time Warner concluded it was most interested in disposing of the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers. The company excluded the Braves and Turner South at the time out of worry that their value might have been diluted by combining them with the underperforming basketball and hockey clubs.

When Time Warner sold the Hawks and Thrashers in 2004, it took 19 months from the point the company began shopping the teams until it closed a sale.

Bavasi noted that selling a sports team -- and, in this case, a cable network -- is a complex task. "This is not just a straight real estate transaction," he said. "The marriage is not just financial."

Greenberg, Bavasi said, will have to balance Time Warner's desire to sell the Braves with finding the right fit for Atlanta. Turner South adds even more wrinkles to the situation.

"Any adviser is going to juggle all of those many and unique elements," Bavasi said. "Steve is just adept at that. His background suits him so well."

Staff writer Tim Tucker contributed to this article.

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