Forbes' MLB franchise values paint ugly picture for Mets

[marmar]

By Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY


Forbes today released its report on the value of Major League Baseball franchises, an annual exercise detailing the ever-rising worth of all 30 clubs, led, as always, by the New York Yankees, now valued at $1.7 billion.

But this year's report contained some jarring numbers on the New York Mets. Burdened by debt on their new Citi Field, stung by a sharp drop in attendance in 2010 and with the looming specter of owner Fred Wilpon's penalties for his connection to the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, Forbes estimates the Mets' value at $747 million, down 13% from 2010.

In an extensive report accompanying the values, Forbes details baseball's looming "debt disaster," as the Mets, no longer able to draw on money from Madoff accounts, had to accept a $25 million bailout from commissioner Bud Selig over the offseason.

They are not the only ones in trouble, of course. The heavily-leveraged Los Angeles Dodgers were denied by Selig in their bid to borrow $200 million from Fox. A baseball official with deep knowledge of the Mets' and Dodgers' situations painted for Forbes an ugly picture for two of MLB's wealthier franchises:

"This is a very serious issue. These are two of the flagship franchises in all of sports. This situation is going to infect all of baseball."

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The complete piece is at: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2011/03/forbes-franchise-values-mets-madoff-yankees-dodgers/1