The passing of Abe Pollin has set into motion the transition that was established back in 1999 when Ted Leonsis and his partners at Lincoln Holdings purchased the Caps and a minority stake in the Wizards, the Verizon Center, Mystics and Tickemaster.
Pollin wanted to hand pick his successor, a person who cared about the fans of Washington with the same passion he had. Someone who was as commitment to both sports and philanthropy as the Pollin family was in the greater Washington area.
There can be no doubt that Leonsis has proven he is not only the most fan friendly owner in Washington but he might be the most candid, approachable and open owner in professional sports.
The transition process will begin perhaps as soon as next week as the Wizards whose worth was pegged about a year ago by Forbes to be about $353 million dollars and Leonsis already owns 44% of the team. The number on the Verizon Center is a little harder to peg at this point but again remember he again owns a percentage of the building. The exact dollar figure to complete the deal is unknown but it is a number that Lincoln Holdings is very well aware of and is no doubt ready to sign the check to complete the deal.
Leonsis’s partners in Lincoln Holdings include Raul Fernandez, former chief executive officer and founder of Proxicom; Richard Fairbank, founder and chairman of Capital One; Jack Davies, former president of AOL international; Jeong Kim, head of Bell Labs; former software executive Rick Kay; Black Entertainment co-founder Sheila Johnson; real estate entrepreneur Dick Patrick; Michelle Freeman; Mark Lerner, son of Nationals owner Ted Lerner; and attorney George Stamas.
Gaining the control of the Wizards, the Verizon Center, Ticketmaster, along with his ownership of the Caps and his partner Ms. Dixon control of the Mystics in 2005 would make the Leonsis team the only sports ownership group in sports to control teams in the NBA, WNBA, NHL as well as the arena they play in.
By owning everything that goes on in the Verizon Center he controls all the revenue streams from the Wizards, Caps, Mystics as well as the signage, luxury boxes, concert and event promotions in addition to the way the tickets are handled through Ticketmaster.
Make no mistake about it Leonsis and Lincoln Holding did not buy the Caps and minority stakes in all the Washington Sports and Entertainment properties not to reap the benefits of owning entire package.
The money is there, the process of succession has been in place for ten years and transition from the Pollin era to the Leonsis era will soon be complete. This is what Abe and Irene Pollin wanted, a seamless move of ownership from one family to another. Pollin’s trust in Leonsis stewardship of his teams and building will finally become a reality. One class act to another for Washington sports fans.
Thanks Abe.
In 1997 Pollin was offered a chance to return to Baltimore where he the city would build him a state of the art arena. He declined and built with his own money the MCI Center.
Had Pollin taken the Baltimore arena deal there would not have been the Ravens because the money the state had set aside a sports comlex. A choice – a football stadium – or a arena. So if you are a Ravens fan tip your glass to Abe.
