CNNSI Article about Mark Attanasio

[AJAY]

Well deserved recognition for Mark Attanasio

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/07/14/heyman.attanasio/index.html

[TheCrew07]

Hopped the fence on I94 to get a game... If I did that I'd end up the clink. Good read though and good find Ajay.

[Patrick425]

I don't mean to be cynical. I really enjoy what Attanasio has done. He's seems like a genuine fan, not just an owner.

 

However, Bud Selig was a hero at one time in Milwaukee (in my eyes he still is). The fans loved him when he brought baseball back to Milwaukee. The fans loved him when he brought guys like Sutton, Simmons, and Fingers to Milwaukee and the Brewers went to the WS. The fans really rallied around him when he fought for a new stadium (I still remember being at a game around that time. He came out on the Mezzenine level of County Stadium. Some fans noticed him, and soon the stadium was giving him a standing ovation). Yet after all of that, there are some Brewer fans that have nothing but bad things to say about him and his tenure as a owner of the Brewers.

 

I just hope fans remember these days and the efforts that Attanasio is making to bring a winner to Milwaukee in the future when he does or does not do something that angers Brewer fans. That day will come, it always does...especially for a small market club.

[stoops17]

Good story. I wonder where he jumped the fence. What happened to the car? And did someone bring the car into the parking lot for him or did he have to jump the fence again when he left?

[wisniewski]

Good post Patrick. I still love what Attanasio has done and I love his genuine fervor for the Brewers. A new era of hope. Bud Selig was once championed, yes, but what did Wendy Selgi Preib ever do with the club? I am honestly asking because I have no idea.

[Thurston Fluff]

Bud Selig was once championed, yes, but what did Wendy Selgi Preib ever do with the club? I am honestly asking because I have no idea.

 

She managed to run the team into the ground and tarnish her dads legacy. Wasn't that enough?

[jeffy]

Mark A. is great and all, but when they talk about "losing money" they always ignore the ever increasing value of the franchise. After owning it for about 3 years, the team could be sold for a profit of about a $110 million, according to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/33/biz_baseball08_Milwaukee-Brewers_337147.html

 

Plus any net profits from selling would be capital gains and taxed at only 15% by the Feds.

[kramnoj]

Mark A. is great and all, but when they talk about "losing money" they always ignore the ever increasing value of the franchise. After owning it for about 3 years, the team could be sold for a profit of about a $110 million, according to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/33/biz_baseball08_Milwaukee-Brewers_337147.html

 

Plus any net profits from selling would be capital gains and taxed at only 15% by the Feds.

 

They ignore it because it isn't relevant to the situation. Attanasio isn't saying "poor me, we are losing money". He is saying that the team will be over-budget this year. That's it. And the team being over-budget isn't going to stop the Brewers from making a couple of more moves if that is what is needed. Once Attanasion starts saying that the team is losing money and can't afford any decent FA, then we can all blast him for that. We're not there yet.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Bud Selig was once championed, yes, but what did Wendy Selgi Preib ever do with the club? I am honestly asking because I have no idea.

 

She managed to run the team into the ground and tarnish her dads legacy. Wasn't that enough?

 

I disagree with that. I think her regime should actually be looked at as the one that stabilized the ship. Maybe I'm glossied eyed, but for the most part I think our ownership groups have done their best and played an important role in getting us to where we are at including Wendy. In my mind there have been several eras in Brewer ownership, that were also heavily influenced by MLB events -

 

1) Fighting Bud - The Braves moving from Milwaukee was pure robbery. Bud fought to keep the dream alive after they left and through numerous disappointments mainly MLB shunning the city for a 1969 expansion team.

2) Building Bud - Taking a floundering expansion team and simply trying to make it viable in a city that was understandably upset with baseball after what happened with the Braves. Bringing Hank Aaron back may have mended some fences even though the team was poor.

3) Winning Bud - Bringing in Harry Dalton and attacking the new free agent market with the signings of Larry Hisle and Sal Bando and building a winner on top of it. It all culminated in 1982.

4) Scrapping Bud - The 1982 Brewers got old, but the Brewers kept trying to come back. 1987, 1989 and 1992 showed promise.

5) Reality Bud - A combination of horrendous management of the team by Bando's regime and a changing economic climate in baseball that gave very little hope to small market teams. Selig comes to the reality and focuses on baseball's problems in general, eventually becoming Commissioner.

6) Wendy - Left with a completely barren cupboard from the mismanagement of the team and a difficult MLB environment, the ship is stabilized and begins to point in the right direction. Commissioner Selig makes progress in revenue sharing and battles the players union. The long battle for Miller Park is won and financial collapse is avoided. The team stays in Milwaukee. Dean Taylor comes in and while performing poorly on a major league level, puts in many of the building blocks to rebuild the horrendous minor league system. Eventually Doug Melvin is brought in, further upgrading the baseball management side. She guides the franchise through a sale process and not only secures a more stable financial future for her family, but places the team in solid hands for the city of Milwaukee.

7) Mark A & the next level - Attanasio has been smart enough to realize after careful evaluation that things were actually progressing in a positive manner prior to his arrival. His decision to stay the course is an active one. He has brought further financial stability to the organization and is doing his best to balance the long and short term interests of the team. While it is still early, the excitement surrounding the current team has been unmatched in 25 years. As the article states, the fact Mark being a New Yorker/Angeleno has tried to be more than just an absentee owner is admirable. He has shown not only a commitment to the team, but the community. Right guy at the right time.

 

It took a great deal of work to get here from the abyss of the mid-90's. We owe Mark a lot for his work, but we shouldn't forget the hard work and tough times that the Seligs had to endure to get us where we are at.

[Bring Back the Stein]

Do they sell Attanasio jerseys?

[Patrick425]

None of what's happening today is possible without Miller Park and Miller Park is not possible without Bud Selig. Without Miller Park there is no new owner, not one that keeps the Brewers in Milwaukee anyways.

[Thurston Fluff]

6) Wendy - Left with a completely barren cupboard from the mismanagement of the team and a difficult MLB environment, the ship is stabilized and begins to point in the right direction. Commissioner Selig makes progress in revenue sharing and battles the players union. The long battle for Miller Park is won and financial collapse is avoided. The team stays in Milwaukee. Dean Taylor comes in and while performing poorly on a major league level, puts in many of the building blocks to rebuild the horrendous minor league system. Eventually Doug Melvin is brought in, further upgrading the baseball management side. She guides the franchise through a sale process and not only secures a more stable financial future for her family, but places the team in solid hands for the city of Milwaukee.

 

Wendy was left with Sal Bando as GM but she extended his contract when she should have been looking for someone else. She allowed the poor me small market mentality to be an excuse instead of finding someone who could work with the cards dealt them. If she had fired Bando when she should have and went with someone who understood the value of drafting and developing young players she wold have been a lot better off. That is all on her. She was not around for the stadium deal that was Bud. She did bring in Taylor but that didn't exactly turn out to be a great hire either. The team only turned it's fortunes around when she stepped down.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

True, extending Bando was a mistake, and was probably done out of a mistaken loyalty. I think people underestimate how good of a hire Taylor was. While horrendous at the major league level, his rebuilding of the minor league system is paying huge dividends today. Wendy did play a role in the stadium although it was certainly led by Bud. I also think you are underestimating how bad things were economically in baseball in the 90's. They made a bad situation worse through poor management by Bando, but for small market teams the situation was indeed hopeless. The seeds of the current team's success were sown before Mark arrived...I think Wendy deserves some of the credit for that. It didn't just turn on a dime the day the franchise was sold.

[jeffy]

kramnoj[/b]]then we can all blast him for that. We're not there yet.

 

Apparently you read my comments as "blasting" Mark A. Which was not the case. I was not criticising him, but rather the incomplete financial picture that the reporter chose to present.

 

The article mentions guaranteed "red-ink" and the purchase price, but leaves out the current value. I think a nearly 50% increase in the value of what was purchased three years ago is relevant to the financial picture.

[JJHardy7]

Mark A. is great and all, but when they talk about "losing money" they always ignore the ever increasing value of the franchise. After owning it for about 3 years, the team could be sold for a profit of about a $110 million, according to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/33/biz_baseball08_Milwaukee-Brewers_337147.html

 

Plus any net profits from selling would be capital gains and taxed at only 15% by the Feds.

I agree, but it's more or less a cash flow play. I'm sure he'll get a profit out of the franchise when he sells it (at least it looks that way now), but the value of the franchise isn't bringing in any extra cash right now. As long as there's enough cash to operate the business, the Brewers could lose money or break even for years and still be a solid investment.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I believe there were times during the 90s when the ownership group received capital calls. I doubt that will happen even with the operating loss this year, but it is always a possibility. Continued increases in franchise values are not guaranteed. From what I understand, the team does carry significant interest cost since the purchase was financed with a large amount of debt and the team contributed some amount to build Miller Park. That interest may be included in the loss they are citing. It also means an increase in franchise value has an even greater impact on their equity value...from that standpoint this ownership group has done quite well with their investment to date.

[jeffy]

Continued increases in franchise values are not guaranteed

 

True, but the same can be said of any other risky investments, which do not come with the perks of being the owner of an MLB team.

 

Owning rental property often works similarly, your landlord may be claiming losses on his/her taxes every year but hopes to sell for a large profit someday.

 

The Brewers financial picture appears to be better than, for example, the NY Yankees:

 

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/33/biz_baseball08_New-York-Yankees_334613.html

 

Yankees

1-Yr Value Chg.	9%
Ann. Value Chg. 2	15%
Debt/Value 3	77%
Revenue 4	$327 mil
Operating Inc. 5	$-47.3 mi

Brewers

1-Yr Value Chg.	15%
Ann. Value Chg. 2	14%
Debt/Value 3	36%
Revenue 4	$158 mil
Operating Inc. 5	$19.2 mil

²Current team value compared with latest transaction price.

³Includes stadium debt.

⁴Net of stadium revenues used for debt payments.

⁵Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

 

The Yankees debt to value ratio would appear to mean they have about $1 billion in debt...wow!

[lcbj68c]

Good story. I wonder where he jumped the fence. What happened to the car? And did someone bring the car into the parking lot for him or did he have to jump the fence again when he left?

Given his presumed financial stability. It wouldn't surprise me if an new Mercedes had been ordered off the showroom floor and delivered to the dock before the top of the 3rd inning.

[hawing]

Good story. I wonder where he jumped the fence. What happened to the car? And did someone bring the car into the parking lot for him or did he have to jump the fence again when he left?

I would be surprised to find that Mark A does his own driving, at least in a traffic jam en route to MP. Thus his driver probably eventually reached the special Attanasio parking spot.

 

[lcbj68c]

When it's just him, or him and his family, he drives. When it's a large group, he limo's.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

The Yankees debt to value ratio would appear to mean they have about $1 billion in debt...wow!

 

Interesting...they must be fully funding the new stadium.

 

It's always tough to go by the Forbes numbers. Since the teams don't fully disclose their financials, the information is often partial or inaccurate...plus it's only a one year snapshot. They also use EBITDA for their income line, my guess is when Mark says they will lose money, that includes his interest cost. But your point is valid, despite running a slight income loss this year, he has done well on his investment and has certainly gotten some personal utility from owning a sports team...that's good for him...and good for us.

[Bluechip]

The Yankees debt to value ratio would appear to mean they have about $1 billion in debt...wow!

Interesting...they must be fully funding the new stadium.

 

It's always tough to go by the Forbes numbers. Since the teams don't fully disclose their financials, the information is often partial or inaccurate...plus it's only a one year snapshot. They also use EBITDA for their income line, my guess is when Mark says they will lose money, that includes his interest cost. But your point is valid, despite running a slight income loss this year, he has done well on his investment and has certainly gotten some personal utility from owning a sports team...that's good for him...and good for us.

The total cost of the stadium, after including new parking garages and parkland to replace what is being destroyed, will be about $1.2 billion. Of that, the Yankees are paying $800 million. The State of New York and New York City are responsible for the other $400 million, in the form of parking garages, new parkland to replace parkland destroyed by construction, demolition of the old stadium, and tax breaks. The nice thing for the Yankees is that under the collective bargaining agreement, stadium debt service can be deducted from revenue sharing, so the Yankees expect to save about $400 million off their MLB revenue sharing bill eventually (about $15-$20 million per year). So by the time everything is said and done, the Yankees themselves will have only paid about $400 million for their stadium.

 

[jeffy]

Yes, I had read something about how paying so much for the stadium would reduce the MLB "luxury tax" for the Yankees. It is even better for them, because if the $400 million went to their competitors it would mean the other teams have more to spend on players meaning the Yankees would have to spend more to outbid them.

I do agree that doing well by owning the Brewers is good for him and good for us.