1996-07-09, By Charlotte-Anne Lucas, Lesli Hicks and Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writers
麦克德莫特策划马刺队出售 - 但消息人士称与阿尔伯克基家族的交易注定失败
(c) 1996, 圣安东尼奥快报 圣安东尼奥马刺队主席罗伯特-麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott) 试图推动将 NBA 球队以 1.2 亿美元的价格出售给一个以阿尔伯克基为基地的家族，该家族拥有拉斯维加斯的一家赌场，尽管该交易以及他在 21 位成员组成的所有者团队中的领导地位遭到越来越多的反对。
马刺队的所有者团队将于周三上午 10 点举行会议，听取与马卢夫家族(Maloof family) 达成交易的细节，消息人士称，该交易包括一项 3000 万美元的违约金，如果买方将球队迁出圣安东尼奥，则需支付这笔费用。
批评人士指出，在任何拥有体育馆和现金购买球队的城市中，NBA 球队的市场都很活跃，这意味着如果将球队出售给与当地没有联系的投资者，球队几乎肯定会离开圣安东尼奥。
然而，麦克德莫特坚称，这笔交易对投资者和城市有利，并将使马刺队留在圣安东尼奥。他还表示，如果这笔交易获得批准，至少两位新老板将搬到圣安东尼奥，以便靠近球队。
然而，其他老板不同意麦克德莫特的评估。
“我买这支球队不是为了卖掉它，而是为了成为现任所有者的一部分。这就是我的声明，”彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt) 说，他是球队九人管理委员会的成员。他在 6 月份购买了马刺队 13% 的股份。
“没有人能理解为什么将军会寻求一项肯定会导致马刺队迁往纳什维尔或其他拥有空置体育馆的城市的交易，”一位消息人士说。
麦克德莫特周一晚上与兄弟二人加文(Gavin) 和乔-马卢夫(Joe Maloof) 共进晚餐，加文-马卢夫周一晚些时候说。
他证实董事会将于周三举行会议，并表示：“届时我会与媒体见面。”
圣安东尼奥快报联系的关键所有者表示，即使在投资者周三会面之前，这笔交易似乎也已注定失败。但他们确实认为，麦克德莫特推动这项来自州外的报价的方式可能会导致所有者要求他放弃董事会主席一职，并结束他引起争议的任期。
盖洛德房产(Gaylord Properties) 的董事会代表克莱顿-贝内特(Clayton Bennett) 拒绝就此事发表评论。他说他不确定自己是否会参加周三的会议。
其他所有者暗示，马卢夫家族的方案可能是麦克德莫特作为马刺队交易主席的“最后绝唱”。
“麦克德莫特正在最后一次机会展示事情如何运作，我们会给他机会进行陈述，”球队所有者核心的一位消息人士说。
一个关键问题是，如果球队离开圣安东尼奥，谁将获得 3000 万美元的“搬迁罚款”。
有些人认为这笔罚款应该支付给这座城市，但球队内部消息人士称，这笔交易规定这笔钱应该支付给前任所有者。
“如果这笔钱归城市所有，那才是真正的惩罚；但如果它归投资者所有，那就几乎相当于一种激励，”这位消息人士说。
最后，他预测，董事会成员将礼貌地拒绝这项提议，让麦克德莫特有机会将主席职位移交给其他人。
霍尔特是一位 47 岁的商人，拥有德克萨斯州和俄亥俄州的卡特彼勒设备经销商，经常被认为是麦克德莫特主席职位的继承人。
霍尔特还表示，他想增加自己在球队中的股份。
“他（霍尔特）在球队中投入了这么多钱，不是为了坐在替补席上，”一位不愿透露姓名的德克萨斯州著名商人说。
麦克德莫特于 1993 年组织了现任所有者团队收购球队，目前拥有马刺队不到 2% 的股份，他仍然是城市里一位受欢迎的领导者。
但马刺队内部消息人士表示，他们更希望主席拥有更大的股份和更大的影响力。
他们还表示，这位退役准将有时强硬、独来独往的风格 - 在 25 年多的城市领导中形成 - 并不适合那些更关心保持一支盈利球队留在圣安东尼奥，而不是成为城市英雄的所有者。
麦克德莫特最亲密的伙伴表示，暂时的疾病并没有削弱他促成大型交易的能力，但董事会最终将代表马刺队说话。
75 岁的麦克德莫特最近几周减掉了 21 磅体重，周一在电话中联系到他时，他正在前往拜访医生的路上。
麦克德莫特拒绝就关于他策划马卢夫家族提议的报道发表评论，但称该提议迫在眉睫。
“我不想谈论我的观点，但这是一个非常好的提议，可能是我见过或听说过的最好的提议，”麦克德莫特说。
当被问及他是否认为董事会将批准球队出售时，麦克德莫特表示：“在我看来，他们不可能拒绝。是的，所有权可能会发生变化。”
马卢夫家族曾拥有 NBA 休斯顿火箭队，并拥有酒店、货运公司、啤酒经销商和一家银行的控股权，他们承诺将球队留在圣安东尼奥。
“我们对马刺队和圣安东尼奥的兴趣由来已久，这不是什么秘密。乔和我将搬到这里，并将把 100% 的时间花在圣安东尼奥。没有将球队搬迁的意图。我们的意图是将它留在圣安东尼奥，”加文-马卢夫说。
麦克德莫特说，乔-马卢夫现在将时间分配在菲尼克斯和阿尔伯克基的家中，而加文-马卢夫住在拉斯维加斯。
麦克德莫特说，他们的一位姐姐、另一位兄弟和他们的母亲将成为这笔交易的共同投资者。
麦克德莫特说，这个家族在去年夏天首次对马刺队提出收购，这是一份“从未完全从谈判桌上撤回”的报价。
“这件事断断续续地持续了几个月，但在季后赛结束后，事情变得更加激烈，”加文-马卢夫说。
麦克德莫特说，目前的报价“甚至不在同一个档次”。
“他们在 4 月份给我们写了信，我们告诉他们，在赛季结束前，我们不会考虑任何报价，”麦克德莫特说。“他们在赛季结束时联系了我们，我们告诉他们等到季后赛结束。他们照做了，并在季后赛结束后联系了我们。
“他们将他们的提议发送给了法律顾问，并向主席（麦克德莫特）和总裁（杰克-迪勒(Jack Diller)）发送了副本。工作人员对它进行了分析，现在我们正在将其提交给董事会。”
麦克德莫特似乎对这笔交易的细节泄露感到困惑。
“我不知道这些东西是怎么泄露出去的，”他在挂断电话前不久说。“也许我会在报纸上看到它，然后它就成真了。”
他说，猜测和不确定性似乎是 NBA 球队交易的双重特征。
“他们今天可以给马刺队打电话，说‘我们改变主意了’。你不能相信他们（关于出售和其他交易的报道），直到你拿到一份文件——然后它必须是认真的，”麦克德莫特说，并补充说，他没有与马卢夫家族的交易相关的任何文件。“我们以前也发生过这种事。我在报纸上读到过，但它们从未实现。”
麦克德莫特说，无论马刺队收到什么报价，董事会都希望将马刺队留在圣安东尼奥。
“我没有听说过任何反对者，”他说。
市长比尔-索恩顿(Bill Thornton) 说，他不知道有任何报价，但他重申了之前的承诺，即该市将努力寻找方法，让球队在圣安东尼奥取得财务成功。
他说，他不确定提出的 3000 万美元罚款是否足以激励外地所有者不将球队搬走。
“马刺队对圣安东尼奥很重要，”索恩顿说。“我们希望他们在圣安东尼奥取得成功，这对我们的市民来说也是好事。”
贝克萨尔县法官辛迪-克里尔(Cyndi Krier) 说，对于一个非常渴望职业篮球的城市来说，这笔财务处罚并不算太高。
“3000 万美元的处罚并没有像当地所有权那样保证马刺队会留在圣安东尼奥，”克里尔说。
她说她对马卢夫家族有积极的印象。
“我希望他们住在圣安东尼奥，”她说。“我当然会对这项提议感到更加兴奋。”
市议员鲍勃-罗斯(Bob Ross) 今年早些时候提议将球队公有化，他说这个想法仍然可行。
“有很多人愿意排队购买股票，”罗斯说，回想起自他提出该提案以来收到的反馈。“我说的不是每股 100 万美元，而是有很多潜在的 10000 美元、15000 美元和 50000 美元的买家。”
罗斯说，1.2 亿美元的报价确定了球队的市场价值，这个数字让公众更容易实现多数股权。
“现在我们知道了价格，51% 的股份略高于 6000 万美元，”他说。“它越来越有吸引力。”
快报特约撰稿人辛迪-图米尔(Cindy Tumiel) 对本报道有贡献。
点击查看原文：McDermott orchestrating Spurs sale - But sources say deal with Albuquerque family doomed to fail
McDermott orchestrating Spurs sale - But sources say deal with Albuquerque family doomed to fail
(c) 1996, San Antonio Express-News San Antonio Spurs Chairman Robert McDermott is trying to push through the sale of the NBA franchise for $120 million to an Albuquerque-based family who owns a Las Vegas casino, despite mounting opposition to the deal and to his leadership within the 21-member ownership group here.
The Spurs’ owners group is to meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday to hear details of the deal with the Maloof family, which sources say includes a $30 million penalty fee to be paid if the buyer moves the team out of San Antonio.
Critics say the ready market for an NBA franchise in any number of cities with arenas and the cash to buy a team means the franchise would almost certainly leave San Antonio if sold to investors with no local connections.
McDermott, however, insists the deal is good for investors and the city and will keep the Spurs in San Antonio. He also said at least two of the new owners would move to San Antonio to be close to the team if the deal is approved.
Other owners, however, disagree with McDermott’s assessment.
“I didn’t buy into this team to sell it, but to be a part of the present ownership. That’s my statement,” said Peter Holt, a member of the team’s nine-member governing board. He bought a 13 percent interest in the Spurs in June.
“Nobody can understand why the general is pursuing a deal that surely would lead to the Spurs leaving for Nashville or some other city with an empty arena,” one source said.
McDermott met with two of the brothers, Gavin and Joe Maloof, for dinner Monday night, Gavin Maloof said late Monday.
He confirmed the board is meeting Wednesday and said: “I will meet with the press at that time.”
Key owners contacted by the San Antonio Express-News said the deal appeared doomed even before the investors meet Wednesday. But they do believe the manner in which McDermott is pushing the out-of-state offer may lead the owners to ask him to relinquish his role as board chairman and end his controversial tenure.
Clayton Bennett, the board representative for Gaylord Properties, the team’s single largest owner, declined to comment on the situation. He said he was not sure whether he would attend Wednesday’s meeting.
Other owners suggested that the Maloof package may be McDermott’s swan song as the deal-making chairman of the Spurs.
“McD is getting his last opportunity at showing how things might work, and we’ll give him the opportunity to present it,” said one source at the center of the team’s owners.
A critical question is who would receive the $30 million “moving fine” if the team left the Alamo City.
Some think the fine should be paid to the city, but highly placed team sources said the deal calls for the money to be paid to the former owners.
“If it goes to the city, it’s a real penalty; but if it goes to the investors, it’s practically an incentive,” said the source.
In the end, he predicted, the board members will politely decline the offer and leave McDermott the opportunity to pass his chairman’s mantle on to someone else.
Holt, a 47-year-old businessman who owns Caterpillar equipment dealerships in Texas and Ohio, is mentioned often as the heir apparent to McDermott’s chairmanship.
Holt also has said he wants to increase his ownership stake in the team.
“He (Holt) didn’t put up so much money in the team to sit on the sidelines,” said one source, a prominent Texas businessman who didn’t want to be named.
McDermott - who in 1993 organized the current ownership group’s purchase of the team and currently owns just under 2 percent of the Spurs - is still a popular city leader.
But Spurs sources say they would prefer to have chairman with a larger stake and more clout.
They also said the retired brigadier general’s sometimes heavy-handed, Lone Ranger style - cultivated in more than 25 years of city leadership - does not sit well with owners who are more concerned with keeping a profitable team in San Antonio than emerging as civic heroes.
McDermott’s closest associates say a temporary illness hasn’t dulled his ability to foster big-money deals, but that the board ultimately will speak for the Spurs.
McDermott, 75, has lost 21 pounds in recent weeks and was en route to visit his doctor when reached by telephone Monday.
McDermott declined comment on reports he orchestrated the Maloof family’s overture, but called the offer imminent.
“I don’t want to really get into my opinion, but it is a very fine offer, probably the best I’ve seen or heard of,” McDermott said.
Asked if he thought the board would approve the sale of the team, McDermott said: “It is inconceivable to me that they would turn it down. Yes, there could be a change of ownership.”
The Maloof family, which once owned the NBA Houston Rockets and owns hotels, trucking interests, a beer distributorship and controlling interest in a bank, promise to keep the team in San Antonio.
“It’s no secret that we have been interested in the Spurs and San Antonio for a long time. Joe and I would move here and spend 100 percent of our time in San Antonio. There is no intention to move the team. Our intention is to keep it in San Antonio,” Gavin Maloof said.
Joe Maloof now splits his time between homes in Phoenix and in Albuquerque, while Gavin Maloof lives in Las Vegas, McDermott said.
A sister, another brother and their mother would be fellow investors on the deal, McDermott said.
The family first made a bid for the Spurs last summer, an offer that “was never totally withdrawn from the table,” one source said.
“This has been going on on-and-off for several months, but it did intensify after the playoffs,” Gavin Maloof said.
The current offer, McDermott said, “is not even in the same ball park.”
“They wrote to us in April and we told them we wouldn’t entertain any offers until the end of the season,” McDermott said. "They contacted us at the end of the season and we told them to wait until the end of the playoffs. They did and contacted us after the playoffs.
“They sent their proposals to the general counsel with copies to the chairman (McDermott) and the president (Jack Diller). The staff analyzed it and now we’re presenting it to the board.”
McDermott seemed genuinely baffled that details of the deal had leaked.
“I wonder how all that stuff gets out there,” he said shortly before hanging up. “Maybe I’ll read it in the newspaper and it’ll come true.”
He said speculation and uncertainty seem to be twin
characteristics of NBA franchise machinations.
"They could call the Spurs today and say, `We’ve changed our mind.’ You can’t believe them (reports about sales and other deals)
until you’ve got a piece of paper - then it must be serious," McDermott said, adding that he has no such piece of paper in connection with the Maloof deal. “We’ve had these things happen before. I’ve read them in the newspaper and they’ve never turned out.”
Whatever offers the Spurs receive, the board wants to keep the Spurs in San Antonio, McDermott said.
“I haven’t heard from any detractors,” he said.
Mayor Bill Thornton said he was not aware of any offer on the table, but repeated his earlier promise that the city would work to find ways to make the team a financial success in San Antonio.
He said he didn’t know whether the proposed $30 million penalty would be enough of an incentive to keep out-of-town owners from moving the team.
“The Spurs are good for San Antonio,” Thornton said. “We want them to be successful here and it’s better for our citizens for them to succeed here.”
Bexar County Judge Cyndi Krier said the financial penalty would not be too steep for a city that wants professional basketball badly enough.
“The $30 million penalty isn’t as much a guarantee that the Spurs will stay in San Antonio as local ownership,” Krier said.
She said she has a positive image of the Maloof family.
“I wish they lived in San Antonio,” she said. "I certainly
would be more excited about the offer."
Councilman Bob Ross, who earlier this year proposed public ownership of the team, said the idea is still viable.
“There are people that are willing to line up and buy stock,” Ross said, recalling feedback he’s received since floating his proposal. “I’m not talking about $1 million a clip, but there are a lot of potential $10,000, $15,000 and $50,000 buyers out there.”
Ross said the $120 million offer set the going market value of the team, a figure that makes majority ownership all the more viable for the public at large.
“Now that we know what the price is, 51 percent is a little over $60 million,” he said. “It looks better and better all the time.”
Express-News Staff Writer Cindy Tumiel contributed to this report.
By Charlotte-Anne Lucas, Lesli Hicks and Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writers, via San Antonio Express-News