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Bronx Bombers to be sold?
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March 19, 1998: 6:14 p.m. ET
Cablevision wants Yankees to join Rangers, Knicks on its roster
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers wants to add the Yankees to its roster, and investors are cheering.
Cablevision Systems Corp. of Woodbury, N.Y., Thursday confirmed it met with legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to discuss a possible bid for the baseball franchise.
"We maintain an active interest in the future of our relationship with the Yankees and are open to any ideas that Mr. Steinbrenner may have," Cablevision Chief Executive James L. Dolan said in a prepared statement.
Rumors of a possible deal sent shares of Cablevision's class A stock (CVC) soaring 7.13 percent, or 8 points, to 120-1/4 on the American Stock Exchange.
However, the Yankees appeared to throw cold water on the rumors by issuing a statement that said no deal was reached and Steinbrenner remains in control of the organization.
"The Boss is here to stay," the Yankees said.
Word of the deal came as Major League Baseball approved the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers to Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch for roughly $350 million.
Steinbrenner, along with an Tampa, Fla.-based investor group, purchased the Bronx Bombers from CBS in 1973 for about $10 million. The 68-year-old Steinbrenner owns about 60 percent of the organization. The latest negotiations put the value of a possible transaction in excess of $500 million, according to New York Newsday.
Ten years ago, the Yankees negotiated a record-setting $486 million, 12-year deal to televise their games on the MSG cable channel. The network, along with its sister property Madison Square Garden, is now 60-percent owned by Cablevision's Rainbow Media unit. Murdoch's News Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc. hold the remaining stake in the network.
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