Originally Posted by K Train
Rooney sells majority to Druckenmiller. Watch for Rooney's to be active still. Even in there minority. I hope Drunkenmiller does not want to upset the apple cart. If or when he comes aboard.
Rooney sells majority to Druckenmiller. Watch for Rooney's to be active still. Even in there minority. I hope Drunkenmiller does not want to upset the apple cart. If or when he comes aboard.
http://americanat.blogspot.com/
I'm blind, I'm deaf, I wanna be a ref! Get on your knees ref your blowing the game!
Big thank you to pa state Daryl Metcalfe. For doing the right thing.
lol that was a joke
Honestly I don't care if the ownership changes as long as the team never leaves Pittsburgh....That would be a very sad day.......I don't want the Rooney's to give up majority interest in the team....But in the end with the ever changing NFL economy the Rooney's just wouldn't have the capital to field a competitive team in the future...Especially if the salary cap disappears....Without a cap the Steelers would need an owner with deep pockets like Mr. Drunkenmiller......Just keep the team in the Burgh......
the team will never leave pittsburgh...the nfl wouldnt have it and druckenmiller is a pittsburgh man anyway...and the rooneys wouldnt sell if they were planning on moving the team
I don't think the team will be moved in the near future...I was thinking in more 10 years or so down the line....Since hopefully I will still be alive...I never in my lifetime would want to see the Steelers moved..even though I don't live in Pittsburgh myself...My parents were born close to Pittsburgh so the Burgh and surrounding area will always be special to me....
I'm willing to trust Drunkenmiller......But I hope if indeed he does buy the team he doesn't cry poor in 5-10 years since Pittsburgh is always a declining market.....
Declining in number, but getting richer anyway.
3. San Diego
4. Baltimore
6. Boston
7. San Francisco/Oakland*
8. Nashville
15. Houston
17. Philadelphia
18. Washington D.C.
19. Pittsburgh
21. Denver
22. Charlotte
29. Jacksonville
33. Minneapolis/St. Paul
40. Seattle
43. Indianapolis
48. New York*
52. Tampa/St. Petersburg
53. Cincinnati
62. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
66. Kansas City
73. Buffalo
74. Phoenix
76. St. Louis
77. Dallas/Ft. Worth
78. Chicago
80. Detroit
89. Cleveland
90. Atlanta
100. New Orleans
* - Metropolitan area includes two NFL teams. Green Bay's income growth statistics are not available.
A graph of real per capita income growth in the 24 biggest U.S. metropolitan areas, plus the largest metro in Alaska and the largest metro in Hawaii:
The figures were tallied by the Fourth District office of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and illustrates gross PCI growth less the increase in regional consumer price index between 2000 and 2006. Among metros in the 48 contiguous United States, only Houston had higher growth in real per capita income than Pittsburgh.
"Rust Belt divergence": This graph illustrates the difference in unemployments rates between Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit since 2000:
Courtesy of Dr. Chris Briem, Economics professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
April-over-April housing appreciation in select major metros:
Simply put, Pittsburgh is on the upswing economically, so anybody who's smart would think twice about trying to move the Steelers away. We're the anti-Atlanta: shrinking, but getting noticeably richer. (Atlanta is exploding, but getting poorer.)
Six Lombardi Trophies: Not coming soon to a city near you.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08191...?cmpid=HBEHTML
I really don't want Dan & Art II to lose controlling interest in this team. If it ain't broke don't fix it IMO and the fact that these 3 brothers are thinking of selling their controlling interest to an outside party makes me sick. The Rooney's are steeped in tradition, they love Pittsburgh, it's in their heritage, they know what it means to have integrity in todays professional sports world. You bring in an outside 3rd party who's nothing more than a business man with a lot of money, the legendary ownership we know and love will be gone....just like that.Investor in talks to control Steelers
Billionaire seeks shares of 3 or 4 Rooney brothers
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Less than a year after they celebrated the 75th anniversary of one of the greatest family-owned franchises in sports history, the Steelers appear to be on the precipice of a major restructuring in ownership that could result in the franchise being controlled by a billionaire investor whose last name is not Rooney.
Stanley Druckenmiller, who owns Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Capital Management and whose lifelong dream is to own the Steelers, is engaged in negotiations with at least three, and possibly four, of the five Rooney brothers to purchase their shares of the franchise and become majority owner of the team -- a move that has pitted Steelers chairman Dan Rooney in an awkward and perhaps contentious financial battle against the rest of his brothers.
Mr. Druckenmiller, 55, an Oakmont Country Club member who lives in New York and is known as the "Tiger Woods of Wall Street," was approached by a member or representative of the Rooney family several months ago about purchasing the shares of at least three of the brothers, believed to be Tim, Pat and John Rooney.
According to a source who is a friend of Mr. Druckenmiller, he might also be in position to purchase the share owned by Art Rooney Jr., a move that would give Druckenmiller controlling interest of a franchise that has been owned by the Rooney family since the late Art Rooney Sr. purchased the team in 1933. Goldman Sachs & Co., a Wall Street investment bank, is negotiating the financial arrangement.
The five Rooney brothers combine to own 80 percent of the team, with each owning an equal share, or 16 percent. The family of Jack McGinley, who died in October 2006, owns the other 20 percent.
"This is the first time this has been this serious," said McGinley's son, Pittsburgh attorney John McGinley Jr.
Mr. Druckenmiller is the only investor who has been approached by the Rooney family, according to a source familiar with the situation. However, his involvement has forced Dan Rooney, the oldest of the five brothers, and his son, Art II, the team's vice president, to seek additional financing to purchase the brothers' shares and keep controlling interest of the franchise in the family.
Mr. Druckenmiller declined comment yesterday. However, his friend told the Post-Gazette that it has been Mr. Druckenmiller's "lifelong dream" to own the Steelers and that he has no intention of relocating the team or disrupting the management of the franchise. According to the friend, Mr. Druckenmiller said that Dan Rooney can run the team "as long as he wants."
Mr. Druckenmiller is such a die-hard Steelers fan that he flies from New York to every home game and even paints his face black-and-gold, his friend said.
"I don't think there is any doubt that anyone who looked at this operation would want to have Dan and Art involved," Mr. McGinley said. "I hope this works out. We live too close to each other. These guys are like my brothers."
The restructuring of the owners could be completed by next month, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The restructuring of the ownership has been going on quietly for two years, in part because Dan Rooney is trying to comply with National Football League policy that prohibits owners from having a financial investment in racetracks and gambling.
Three of the Rooney brothers who own an equal share of the team -- Tim, John and Pat -- are involved in the operation of Empire City at Yonkers Raceway, a harness racing track in Yonkers, N.Y.; and the Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Each of those facilities also includes slots and/or gaming tables.
But that is not the sole reason for the restructuring. According to a family member, the brothers are concerned about their advancing age and want to pass their financial share of the franchise to their children -- an enticing prospect when they learned the franchise was valued between $800 million and $1.2 billion by Goldman Sachs.
Some of the Rooney brothers were upset when Dan Rooney, the oldest son of founder Art Rooney Sr., gave them a buyout proposal that they felt was significantly undervalued, a source said. That's when a member or representative of the family approached Mr. Druckenmiller about purchasing their shares.
More than a decade ago, the late Jack McGinley Sr., who was married to the sister of Art Rooney Sr., received a call from an intermediary who said he knew someone who would buy the McGinley shares if they became available. According to McGinley's son, John, his father responded, "Tell him we're quite happy the way things are."
That person interested in buying the McGinley shares was Mr. Druckenmiller.
It is not known if the McGinley family would still refuse to sell its shares to Mr. Druckenmiller, but he does not need them to gain controlling interest.
If Mr. Druckenmiller purchased the shares of three brothers, he would own 48 percent of the Steelers, more than either Dan Rooney or the McGinley family, but still not enough to have controlling interest. If he purchased the shares of four brothers -- a possibility according to at least two sources -- he would have 64 percent and become the principal owner.
That is what Dan Rooney and Art Rooney II are trying to prevent. They are seeking to buy the brothers' shares to gain controlling interest of the franchise, something they revealed in a statement released Monday afternoon. Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, an attorney, is working with the Steelers to remedy the situation.
Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said the league would not comment on the Rooney re-structuring, saying it supported the statement released by the Steelers. Mr. Aiello said the NFL is not pressuring the Rooneys into restructuring.
The NFL requires all new owners to have at least 30 percent controlling interest in the franchise. The Steelers, though, are among a handful of older franchises that do not have to abide by that policy because they were "grandfathered" under the old guidelines.
Mr. Druckenmiller declined comment yesterday. However, his friend told the Post-Gazette that it has been Mr. Druckenmiller's "lifelong dream" to own the Steelers and that he has no intention of relocating the team or disrupting the management of the franchise. According to the friend, Mr. Druckenmiller said that Dan Rooney can run the team "as long as he wants."
I can appreciate this, the guy seems like a football fan and a true Steelers fan, and to me it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he would ending having part ownership of the team but I would most definitely prefer it if Dan and Art would gain majority control.
Last edited by BlitzburghRockCity; 07-09-2008 at 05:57 AM.
The thought of this makes me sick to my stomach.If Mr. Druckenmiller purchased the shares of three brothers, he would own 48 percent of the Steelers, more than either Dan Rooney or the McGinley family, but still not enough to have controlling interest. If he purchased the shares of four brothers -- a possibility according to at least two sources -- he would have 64 percent and become the principal owner.
You and me both!
"Commitment to the team - there is no such thing as in-between, you are either in or you're out."-Pat Riley
It is ironic that the good fortune the NFL has experienced will likely cost Dan Rooney his team. I read that he offered his brothers $35 million over 10 years - and market value for each brother's share is somewhere around $160 million. No wonder they've been working on this for 2 years. I wouldn't do it either. Dan and Art 2 will not be able to raise that kind of capital and maintain an acceptable debt ratio for the team and the NFL. Even a with a significant family discount I can't see them getting this done around those numbers.
As for Drunkenmiller moving the team, can you see the NFL letting that happen with the recent committment to Heinze field and the massive fan support? Maybe way down the road if things change considerably, but I hope not.
I doubt that Drunkenmiller would do it anyway. My guess is he wants the team because he is one of us crazy fans pursuing his dream. It is obvious that this isn't a pure business decision for him. NFL franchises do not really make that much money relative to their market value. If the value of the Steelers today is about $1 billion and the team makes about $20 million a year in profits - my guess is he can do better investing elsewhere (or he'd better be able to). I'm not a finance wiz, but it doesn't seem close to a good investment to me.
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