MLB to take over Dodgers?

[Erik]

Fred Wilpon just **** himself.

I bet the only reason the Mets haven't gotten this treatment yet is that Bud and Fred are personal friends.

[joncarlos]

Yes and yes. The straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, was McCourt requesting a personal loan of $30M from Fox to cover costs. Crazy times.

Not just costs... payroll, if you're willing to believe ESPN.

And there's also a rumor that they cut parking lot security to save costs. I can't believe that McCourt would have been that dumb, but that would just be begging for the ax.

[The Dane]

And there's also a rumor that they cut parking lot security to save costs.

Good. You ever been to a Dodger game? Those guys are the biggest jerks in Los Angeles, and if you've been to Los Angeles you know that is saying something.

[joncarlos]

Good. You ever been to a Dodger game? Those guys are the biggest jerks in Los Angeles, and if you've been to Los Angeles you know that is saying something.

Well that might be true, but it's still bad press after the whole "guy gets beaten almost to death and there are no cameras or security anywhere nearby" situation

[The Dane]

Well that might be true, but it's still bad press after the whole "guy gets beaten almost to death and there are no cameras or security anywhere nearby" situation

That's for sure. To tell you the truth when I first heard of that guy getting beaten in the parking lot, I assumed it WAS security.

[chancellor]

If I were McCourt, I'd find the most politically connected big bank I could, arrange for DIP financing, and declare bankruptcy with the team as an asset.

[Hornsby]

The real question is this: Where is the money going? It's the 2nd biggest market in the country, yet the Dodgers have only the 11th highest payroll. According to Forbes, in 2006, they had revenues of 189 million, and it's got to be more now. Selig and company are right to be concerned about the franchise...it's being drained and nobody knows where the cash is.

[Bob Kohm]

I think MLB does know where the money is going and I think the reason they're starting to get a pretty clear picture of McCourt's financials is through the divorce case. Jamie and Frank loved the lavish lifestyle, to say the least. And attendance is down now something like 15-20% for home games. The Dodgers have had multiple home games with less than 30,000 in attendance after not having even one such game since 2005 (I'm going off of memory here, forgive me if that's not exactly right).

What a mess. Clearly MLB cannot let the Dodgers default, right? Does the league have the cash on hand to get through this, or is there going to be an attempt at some sort of special assessment against the franchises to keep the Dodgers above water?

[senorsheep]

And there's also a rumor that they cut parking lot security to save costs. I can't believe that McCourt would have been that dumb, but that would just be begging for the ax.

I'm sure this was originally discussed in more detail in another thread, but I couldn't find it. Remember the Giants fan who was beaten to the point of brain damage in the parking lot after the Giants-Dodgers home opener in Los Angeles in 2011? I just happened to catch this in a random news feed - The Dodgers were recently found partially negligent to the tune of about $15 million.

Dodgers Found Partly Responsible In Fan Beating

A San Francisco Giants fan who suffered brain damage in a stadium parking lot beating won his negligence suit against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, with a jury awarding about $18 million but dividing responsibility among the club and the two men who beat him.

Plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi said the verdict means the Dodgers must pay about $14 million in economic losses and a portion of a separate sum for pain and suffering, which adds about $1 million more.

...

Lawyers for the 45-year-old Stow claimed the Dodgers and former owner Frank McCourt failed to provide adequate security at the stadium.

Dodger fans Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood pleaded guilty in the attack after a lengthy preliminary hearing in which witnesses said security guards were absent from the parking lot where Stow was attacked.

...

Dave Stow said his brain-damaged son probably wouldn't understand the details if Wednesday's verdict.

"He did get some money to help the future and that's what we wanted — we wanted help," he said. "He's not going to be 100 percent, maybe for a long time, maybe never. What he gets is going to help him through now, and that's what he needs."

[overkill94]

It's obviously a horrible tragedy, but what exactly are the right amount of security guards at a sporting event? The Dodgers have beefed up their security presence since that incident and it seems to be working, but I'm curious how the court can decide that the team was negligent.

[The Dane]

It's obviously a horrible tragedy, but what exactly are the right amount of security guards at a sporting event? The Dodgers have beefed up their security presence since that incident and it seems to be working, but I'm curious how the court can decide that the team was negligent.

If I understand it correctly (and it's possible I don't) the main point of contention was that the Dodgers cut security to save money during their financial crisis. And frankly, if I'm a judge, this is a no-brainer. It's a tragic thing, but do we compound the tragedy by making the poor Stow family pay countless dollars to care for their son/father/husband for the rest of his life, or do we let the Dodgers who, by all accounts, have unlimited pockets when it comes to signing free agents, pick up the tab? 15 million to them is nothing. Nothing. Honestly, if I was running the Dodgers, I'd have offered to pay for everything immediately for as long as Stow is alive and the Dodgers exist. That is humane and sensible and a meaningless sum of money for them.

[Sam]

It's obviously a horrible tragedy, but what exactly are the right amount of security guards at a sporting event? The Dodgers have beefed up their security presence since that incident and it seems to be working, but I'm curious how the court can decide that the team was negligent.

Most teams and sporting venues go off of the NFPA Life Safety Code 101 which states that there must be 1 trained crowd manager/supervisor per every 250 guests at a minimum. It's not a hard-fast rule/law but generally considered the best practice from an event management/crowd management/security standpoint. Virtually all security at most major venues have gone through the trained crowd manager training and would qualify as a trained crowd manager (as well as police officers and a majority of the event managers/stadium managers).

I didn't follow the case enough to know if this was referenced at all throughout the trial though...

[cavebird]

Most teams and sporting venues go off of the NFPA Life Safety Code 101 which states that there must be 1 trained crowd manager/supervisor per every 250 guests at a minimum. It's not a hard-fast rule/law but generally considered the best practice from an event management/crowd management/security standpoint. Virtually all security at most major venues have gone through the trained crowd manager training and would qualify as a trained crowd manager (as well as police officers and a majority of the event managers/stadium managers).

I didn't follow the case enough to know if this was referenced at all throughout the trial though...

Given that it was a negligence case, either that or something similar would have been referenced. The plaintiff had to show wrongdoing or neglect on the part of the Dodgers, and proper crowd control protocols, which are standard to the industry, would be vital in that effort.

[Sam]

Given that it was a negligence case, either that or something similar would have been referenced. The plaintiff had to show wrongdoing or neglect on the part of the Dodgers, and proper crowd control protocols, which are standard to the industry, would be vital in that effort.

Agreed - and it would've been easy to show the staffing levels for that game and other games before or after as well as attendance numbers and put 2 and 2 together.