Paul Dolan seeking minority ownership for Indians

The Cleveland Indians have won nine of their last 10 home games, but all of the news is trickling off of the field. If Mark Shapiro heading north of the border wasn’t enough, we find out that Tribe owner Paul Dolan has hired an outside firm to pair him with a potential minority owner.

According to the Associated Press:

Dolan, who has had primary control of the Indians since 2013, hired a New York-based investment broker several months ago to help him find a minority owner for the ballclub, which has struggled to stay competitive in a sport without a salary cap in a city still recovering from job losses and a dwindling population.

Dolan secured Allen & Co. to search for a minority owner, a team spokesman confirmed Sunday. The New York Post first reported the deal on Saturday.

The Dolan family bought the Indians in 1999 from Richard (“Dick”) Jacobs for $322 million. Having not won a World Series since 1948, the current-day Tribe has one of the lowest payrolls in the majors and attendance at Progressive Field has dropped dramatically in the past few seasons, frequently placing the team amongst the worst in baseball. Dolan reportedly values the team at $800 million while third-party valuations are coming in considerably lower, making the minority stake tough price.

This news comes in tandem with a recent report from Crain’s Cleveland, stating that the Indians have actually lost money during certain stretches of Dolan’s ownership, a tough feet in today’s professional sports landscape.

The perception is that the Cleveland Indians, who annually have one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball, make millions in profits — thanks to eight-figure checks they receive from television networks and revenue sharing.

The reality, according to team president Mark Shapiro, is that the Tribe’s much-maligned ownership has suffered plenty of losses over the years, and any profits the Dolans make go back into the team.

The catch—there’s always a catch—is that while some years appear to have incurred losses, those that have not been in the red have been very, very green.

Forbes estimated that the Indians had an operating income — which it defines as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — of $8.9 million in 2014. The year before, the Tribe’s operating income, according to the magazine, was in the red, at a loss of $1.9 million.

But in 2012 and 2013, Forbes projected the Tribe’s operating income at a combined $53.1 million, including an MLB-high $30.2 million in 2012.

The annual Forbes releases are always met with disdain from ownership and front offices alike, but if there’s any silver lining for the Dolan family as they seek to find a minority owner to help spread the assets and liabilities, it’s that , this past March, valued the Indians at $825 million, a 45% jump from 2014. Beggars, after all, can’t be choosers.