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Vikings sale done deal?
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Reports: Fowler deal close to complete
Last Update: 2/12/2005 12:25:18 AM
KFAN dot com
Reggie Fowlers primary competition believes the Arizona entrepreneur has reached an agreement to buy the Vikings from Red McCombs.
Whether Fowlers bid is approved by the NFL, according to Mankato businessman Glen Taylor, might be a different matter altogether.
The Arizona Republic reported Friday that Fowler and McCombs were on the verge of completing a deal, and Taylor, expected to make a bid of nearly $600 million if Fowlers group doesnt acquire the franchise, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he believes McCombs has agreed to sell the team to Fowler for $625 million.
"Fowler will get the deal done, because he's driven by ownership, and Red is driven by price," Taylor told the paper. "So, they probably will work it out. What happens when it gets to the league office will determine if (Fowler) has the financial resources to be the general partner.
In other words, Fowler might have a deal, but commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the leagues other 31 owners might not approve the structure of the prospective ownership group.
"The NFL demands more financial power from the general partner than do other leagues, Taylor told the Tribune. It's more difficult to pass muster than in the NBA, where we have corporations and ownership groups split a lot of ways.
The NFL wants one person to be the lead investor and to represent the team."
Fowler operates Spiral, Inc., an Arizona-based company specializing in real estate development and manufacturing. According to Black Enterprise Magazine, Spiral generated $314 million in 2003 sales with a staff of just 75.
Fowlers group includes several New York-based investors, as well as Twin Cities auto dealer Denny Hecker Questions have been raised about whether Fowler has the finances to be the franchise's primary owner; the league requires one person to own at least 30 percent of a team.
Taylors worth, meanwhile, was estimated by Forbes magazine in September at $1.9 billion.
"I would own 30 percent, which is the stake the NFL requires," said Taylor, who built his personal wealth in the printing business. "And 30 is about what I can do without having to draw money from any of my other companies."
Taylor noted that if Fowler indeed agreed to buy the team for $625 million $80 million more than Taylor, who also owns the NBA's Timberwolves, reportedly offered for the team last fall the league might not approve any lower offer.
Taylor also expressed optimism about gaining support for public financing for a new stadium something that might prove tougher for an out-of-town buyer.
Fowler, who played linebacker at the University of Wyoming and briefly in the USFL, is a native of Tuscon, Ariz.
In the past, Fowler he indicated a willingness to provide some private financing for a new stadium. The Vikings lease at the Metrodome expires in 2011, meaning the team likely would have to secure financing by next summer to ensure a new facility would be ready for the 2012 season.
The Vikings has officially pulled the plug on its stadium push, but Anoka County, the preferred location of the new facility, in December approved $125,000 in additional funding for its end of the stadium effort.
McCombs, who put the team up for sale in 2002, as recently as October expressed interest in relocating the team to Los Angeles if public funding for a new stadium cant be secured.
Fowler hopes to become the first African-American majority owner in the NFL
Vikings sale done deal?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reports: Fowler deal close to complete
Last Update: 2/12/2005 12:25:18 AM
KFAN dot com
Reggie Fowlers primary competition believes the Arizona entrepreneur has reached an agreement to buy the Vikings from Red McCombs.
Whether Fowlers bid is approved by the NFL, according to Mankato businessman Glen Taylor, might be a different matter altogether.
The Arizona Republic reported Friday that Fowler and McCombs were on the verge of completing a deal, and Taylor, expected to make a bid of nearly $600 million if Fowlers group doesnt acquire the franchise, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he believes McCombs has agreed to sell the team to Fowler for $625 million.
"Fowler will get the deal done, because he's driven by ownership, and Red is driven by price," Taylor told the paper. "So, they probably will work it out. What happens when it gets to the league office will determine if (Fowler) has the financial resources to be the general partner.
In other words, Fowler might have a deal, but commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the leagues other 31 owners might not approve the structure of the prospective ownership group.
"The NFL demands more financial power from the general partner than do other leagues, Taylor told the Tribune. It's more difficult to pass muster than in the NBA, where we have corporations and ownership groups split a lot of ways.
The NFL wants one person to be the lead investor and to represent the team."
Fowler operates Spiral, Inc., an Arizona-based company specializing in real estate development and manufacturing. According to Black Enterprise Magazine, Spiral generated $314 million in 2003 sales with a staff of just 75.
Fowlers group includes several New York-based investors, as well as Twin Cities auto dealer Denny Hecker Questions have been raised about whether Fowler has the finances to be the franchise's primary owner; the league requires one person to own at least 30 percent of a team.
Taylors worth, meanwhile, was estimated by Forbes magazine in September at $1.9 billion.
"I would own 30 percent, which is the stake the NFL requires," said Taylor, who built his personal wealth in the printing business. "And 30 is about what I can do without having to draw money from any of my other companies."
Taylor noted that if Fowler indeed agreed to buy the team for $625 million $80 million more than Taylor, who also owns the NBA's Timberwolves, reportedly offered for the team last fall the league might not approve any lower offer.
Taylor also expressed optimism about gaining support for public financing for a new stadium something that might prove tougher for an out-of-town buyer.
Fowler, who played linebacker at the University of Wyoming and briefly in the USFL, is a native of Tuscon, Ariz.
In the past, Fowler he indicated a willingness to provide some private financing for a new stadium. The Vikings lease at the Metrodome expires in 2011, meaning the team likely would have to secure financing by next summer to ensure a new facility would be ready for the 2012 season.
The Vikings has officially pulled the plug on its stadium push, but Anoka County, the preferred location of the new facility, in December approved $125,000 in additional funding for its end of the stadium effort.
McCombs, who put the team up for sale in 2002, as recently as October expressed interest in relocating the team to Los Angeles if public funding for a new stadium cant be secured.
Fowler hopes to become the first African-American majority owner in the NFL