The sale of the Washington Wizards and Verizon Center continues, as representatives of the Abe Pollin estate and Lincoln Holdings, headed by Caps owner Ted Leonsis, work on a price.
This week, two articles from The Sports Business Journal caught my eye, as did one from Washington Business Journal. Both publications stated that Leonsis had been in conversations with Comcast, the parent of CSN-Washington, about an interest in becoming involved with the purchase of both the Wizards and Verizon Center.
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Leonsis has the first right to buy the remaining 56 percent stake of Washington Sports & Entertainment under an agreement with the Pollin estate. Pollin’s 56 percent stake could be worth as much as $500 million, putting the total value of the Wizards and Verizon Center at nearly $900 million, according to The Sports Business Journal.
The Caps and Wizards are under contract with CSN-Washington through at least the 2015 season, and at that point they could be on the open market. If that were the case, MASN could make an attempt to tie up four pro teams — the Nationals and Orioles, which they own, as well as the Wizards and Caps.
However, what makes more sense is for Comcast to give Leonsis his rights money in advance while at the same time working on a deal that would allow the Wizards and Caps to jointly own a part of CSN-Washington.
We know that in Philadelphia, Comcast owns the 76ers, the arena and CSN-Philadelphia. Meanwhile in New York, Comcast, along with Time-Warner, owns part of SportsNet New York with the New York Mets.
Comcast has, in fact, been aggressive in its deals with teams, which allowed them to overtake FOX Sports networks in both Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. In Chicago, the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks each own a part of CSN-Chicago; the San Francisco Giants own part of CSN-Bay Area.
I have worked on complex deals like this before. They are not easy and take time. Fans want Leonsis to get control of both the Wizards and Verizon Center — and he remains the overwhelming favorite to do just that — but $900 million is a great deal of money.
There is no doubt that Leonsis can do this deal without Comcast. Nevertheless, having the cable giant is a good deal for both sides.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
