Perhaps sensing this is the best way to get some cash out of her divorce to Frank McCourt, Jamie McCourt has agreed to let him keep the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium as part of a settlement and will support his effort to sell the team’s media rights.
The McCourts have been embroiled in a nasty, public divorce for months now, disagreeing on who would walk away with the Dodgers and the related assets. It has ended up being an issue in the team’s bankruptcy proceedings: MLB argued that any long-term sale of the team’s media rights was just another way for the McCourts to cash out of the franchise and taking away needed future revenues for any potential future owners. Because of this reason, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has rejected potential media-rights sales to Fox Sports and argued in Delaware bankruptcy court that the best approach for the McCourts was to sell the team, not auction off media rights.
“The terms of the settlement, which is already in effect, will remain private,” according to a statement issued by both McCourts. “Jamie will be withdrawing her opposition to the Dodgers proposed sale of media rights and instead will be filing papers in support of the process proposed by the Dodgers.”
The settlement means Frank McCourt will have clear title, if you will, to the Dodgers assets and resolving one key issue in bankruptcy court. It also gains him an important ally, as spokespersons for Jamie McCourt say they will support the sale of media rights: “From the beginning, Jamie has consistently expressed her willingness to accept a settlement, even if it required her to give up her interest in the Dodgers, the team she loves, if a fair resolution were possible,” said a statement issued by McCourt’s reps. “That has now been achieved through the cooperation of everyone involved and Jamie looks forward to moving on and focusing on new opportunities.”
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