Who wants the 51s?

Monday, Oct. 31, 2005 | 8:16 a.m.

Nearly eight months after retaining a New York-based company to broker a possible sale, the Las Vegas 51s are no closer to an ownership change, according to team President Don Logan.

But Logan said he does not believe the team's asking price -- reported to be in the neighborhood of $20 million -- is scaring off potential buyers.

"It's (like) oceanfront property -- there are only 30 of these things and they're not making any more," Logan said of the Las Vegas Triple-A franchise.

Although Logan would not disclose the team's asking price, Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller purchased the Salt Lake City Triple-A franchise earlier this year for $20 million. Mandalay Baseball Properties, which owns the 51s, is believed to be seeking a similar deal for the 51s.

While that price tag may seem steep, any potential buyer would stand to earn a territorial rights fee of close to $20 million if a Major League Baseball team were to move to Las Vegas and force the 51s to relocate.

Mandalay Baseball Properties in March retained Galatioto Sports Partners to entertain offers for the team, which had been increasing in frequency in the wake of Las Vegas' failed bid last year to land the Montreal Expos.

Salvatore Galatioto, president of GSP and the former head of the Lehman Brothers' Sports Advisory and Finance Group, has brokered some of the biggest sales in sports history, including the sales of the Washington Redskins, Phoenix Suns, Anaheim Angels and Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Logan said the hiring of Galatioto Sports Partners was not a sign that Mandalay was looking to unload the 51s.

"We had a number of casual inquiries about buying the team through that whole period of time," Logan said of Major League Baseball's interest in Las Vegas while it was trying to find a suitable home for the Expos.

"Somebody (with Mandalay) got one of those calls and we decided to enlist the services of an experienced broker ... to market the club."

Hank and Ken Stickney, who own Los Angeles-based Mandalay Baseball Properties with Peter Guber and Paul Schaeffer, acquired the 51s for $7 million in 1991 from Larry Koentopp, who moved the franchise from Spokane, Wash., to Las Vegas in 1983. MBP also owns minor-league franchises in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Maryland.

Logan said that although Galatioto Sports Partners has fielded a number of offers on the 51s, a sale is not imminent.

"Some people have made offers casually, over the phone, and some people have made written offers," Logan said, "but to this point, nothing has happened. If we don't get a number that we're comfortable with, we're not going to sell it.

"Everything does have its price and if somebody is willing to get to a point where we can agree that that's a good number then, yes, we would sell it."

Brian Hilderbrand can be reached at 259-4089 or at bh@lasvegassun.com.