Latest On Mets’ Sale Efforts

Reporting earlier today made clear that Alex Rodriguez and Jenifer Lopez have had success lining up some wealthy investors to join them in pursuit of the Mets.

It seemed initially that there was another deep-pocketed participant in the A-Rod-J.Lo group. Per Charles Gasparino of FOX Business (Twitter link), Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola had joined the fray along with previously rumored Mike Repole.

It turns out that is indeed the case, but that Viola’s public emergence doesn’t really add to the pot. As Tim Healey and Jim Baumbach of Newsday report, Viola is actually working with Repole. The pair are said to be willing to invest to the $250MM level.

It seems there could be other contributors as well — as one might expect, given the anticipated cost of a New York baseball franchise. While the sale price will obviously droop due to the coronavirus uncertainty, it’s still a marquee asset in the sports world.

The current Wilpon ownership group is interested in wrapping up a deal by the end of 2020, per the Newsday report. And it seems the current package of assets would not include the revenue-producing SNY network, which will obviously bear on the level of outside interest and price that can be achieved.

That timeline is of interest, as it makes clear that this is a near-term proposition. Those who followed the recent sale of the Marlins will recall that there was still plenty of uncertainty at this point on the calendar. A deal was consummated in August, in time for the new ownership group to prepare for a full first offseason.