Information on the sale of the San Diego Padres has been hard to come by this offseason, but that’s changing very quickly. Now that the Seidler family lawsuit has been settled, the family has been focusing on the sales process, specifically on prospective buyers and the timeline.
Dennis Lin of The Athletic did a writeup on this, and he provided some useful tidbits about how it’s going to play out. A lot of this was based on the appearance of owner John Seidler now that spring training is underway, and his initial comment was about timing.
“A sales process also plays out in its own timing,” Seidler said. “And in the next few months, the process will come to a logical conclusion.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen during the season. One of the reasons Seidler popped up was that only three interested parties were reported, with one being Golden State Warriors Joe Lacob and the other two being a pair of English Premiere League owners. The conclusion many people reached when they saw Lacob’s name was that this sale might be quick, given Lacob’s wealth and his prior interest in buying an MLB team.
“We’ve had tremendous interest,” Seidler said. “Some parties have been reported in the press. Others have not.”
That’s a fairly obvious attempt to start a bidding war. Another report in The Athletic had initial bids due in February, so the other intent behind that comment is that other potential buyers are either involved and going unreported or ready to jump in.
The pricing for the franchise is intriguing as well. Forbes placed the initial value of the franchise at just under $2 billion, with the Sidles reportedly seeking a far larger amount. Now estimates of the amount they’re seeking have been lowered to $3 billion, according to Lin, which is probably an attempt to bring back potential buyers who might have balked at participating in a runaway bidding war.
Another thing Seidler wanted to make clear was that the Padres won’t be moving. This has been a fear among the fan base for at least a month or two, and it could dampen attendance at Petco Park this spring and summer. That would be disastrous after a winter of inactivity on the baseball front, so Seidler made an attempt to get out in front of the possibility.
“The Padres aren’t moving from San Diego,” Seidler said. “A new buyer would be nuts to move the team out of San Diego. We had the second-highest attendance in all of baseball last year. We’ve been in the top five (in attendance) for the last five or six seasons. San Diego is a great place for baseball. Baseball is the only major sport in San Diego right now. So, the opportunity is in San Diego, not elsewhere.”