Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and members of his family are key players in a group that has agreed to purchase the San Diego Padres for a price believed to be about $800 million. The price went up after the Dodgers' new ownership paid more than $1 billion for the club and stadium. O'Malley, who sold the Dodgers to Fox in 1998, had tried to re-buy the Dodgers this year but was bumped from the bidding early.
From the Associated Press report:tonight:
O'Malley is the son of Walter O'Malley, who bought the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and moved them to Los Angeles before the 1958 season."An agreement has been confirmed but is not yet finalized. It has to be voted on," Padres senior vice president, public affairs Sarah Farnsworth said after San Diego beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 Monday night....
The new ownership group includes Peter O'Malley's two sons, Kevin and Brian, and nephews Peter and Tom Seidler. Two of the four are expected to move to San Diego.
Tom Seidler is president of the Class A Visalia Rawhide.
Professional golfer Phil Mickelson is also part of the new ownership group. The MLB.com story stresses that the ownership group is headed by San Diego businessman Ron Fowler, thus they can claim the sale is to local interests. The O'Malleys, of course, are closely linked to Los Angeles. Water O'Malley, Peter's late father, was the owner who moved the Dodgers to LA from Brooklyn in 1958.
Photo of Peter O'Malley and Tom Lasorda: Ben Platt/MLB.com at WalterOMalley.com
