The Dodgers’ ownership group has reached an agreement to purchase the team’s 60-year lease for Dodger Stadium, according to a report by ESPN.
The deal, which is expected to close in the next few weeks, will put the Dodgers at a “major advantage” over rival teams who could seek to move their team to Los Angeles for the 2019 season, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported.
The Dodgers will own the venue for the next seven years, a move that would give the team a chance to build an entire new stadium at the new stadium site.
It will be the team that will have to move for the first time since Los Angeles moved its team to Seattle in 2000.
The team also has the right to sell its lease for 20 years, according a report from ESPN’s Adam Rubin.
The sale will reportedly include the Dodgers’ entire lease, which expires in 2022.
The price tag for the sale of the Dodgers is not yet known, but the team has already invested $8.2 million in the stadium, according the report.
The report said the team will use the money to finance a new stadium and also spend millions on marketing, technology and media.
The move is expected, but not likely to happen anytime soon.
“We think this is a smart, long-term business decision for our city,” Dodgers CEO Larry Baer said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodger deal also has Dodgers President and CEO Don Mattingly and team President Stan Kasten on board, Bloomberg reported.
“Our team has proven itself in Los Angeles.
We look forward to bringing back Dodger fans for the 2018 season, and to building on the tremendous legacy our team has built over the past 40 years,” Mattingles said in the statement.
“It is a tremendous day for baseball in our great city.”
