Forbes lists Ravens as 24th best franchise in pro sports world wide

[TBird]

Yup, that's world wide and includes all those famous pro soccer clubs in Europe and South

America and Africa where it is king, not football. It also includes MLB, NBA and NHL in the

US.

 

Not bad for just being a small market. There are only about 5 smaller cities in the NFL like

Charlottle and Jacksonville that we out rank and they got expansion teams over us but we all

know why the expansion derby was rigged vs Bmore.

 

Actually, this 24th ranking by Forbes is down from it;s last posting where Ravens were the 19th

best franchise. I wonder why?

 

Anyway, it's good to hear, especially for Bisciotti, truly a great owner. He paid $600M for the Ravens

and his lawyer said he would make more money investing in treasury notes which got 5% at the

time. Since the market crashed they were last seen around 2% or lower.

 

This issue of Forbes puts Ravens value at $1.5B and I bet he would get $2B if the Buffalo Bils got

$1B when their owner died. Hell, they never won anything and Ravens have been a dominant

team for over a decade with a pair of SB trophies as the 6th seed.

 

Not bad, not bad at all.

 

 

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Eisenberg-Forbes-Ranking-A-Genuine-Baltimore-Sports-Triumph/bc3b2526-5fa3-467b-8a2a-78321c7885ee

[thundercleetz]

http://russellstreetreport.com/2015/07/08/lombardis-way/a-look-into-the-future-of-the-ravens/

 

RSR did a great interview with Bisciotti. Interesting comments from Bisciotti about the future of the team.

[TBird]

It's interesting that Steve said he could possibly sell within 10 years. He might not always be an owner

and wouldn't want to be one at 65 and threatening the city to move his team ala Irsay. He's 55 now.

 

I'd hate to go through a change of owners again. I thought Steve would leave the team to his sons.

[oldno82]

It's interesting that Steve said he could possibly sell within 10 years. He might not always be an owner

and wouldn't want to be one at 65 and threatening a city to move his team ala Irsay. He's 55 now.

 

I'd hate to go through a change of owners again. I thought Steve would leave the team to his sons.

I was hoping for that too.

[TBird]

LOL - That was the only thing old man Irsay did right - leaving the team to his son. He turned things

around and got its only SB trophy and a ton of playoffs (it helped being in a candy bar division).

The old man paid $20M for the team in 1972 and it's worth $1B with a great new stadium. Jimmy

said he was trained on every non-coaching job in the organization. When he was young,

Marchibroda did teach him how to watch film.

 

It almost didn't turn out that way. The old man tried to fire Jimmy as executor of his estate and from the

team. He was messing with his step mom sending some expensive jewelry back to the store. The old

man was furious when his wife informed him so he tried to fire JImmy.

 

However, it was too late because Jimmy was already appointed by the court as Irsay's legal

guardian as he was ruled by the court to be mentally incompetent to handle his affairs. When the old

man died Jimmy went at the bitch. She wanted the ranch and the team. There was a pre-naupt signed

that wouldn't let her have the estate and there was no way she would get the team.

 

So they settled out of court. She got the ranch and Jimmy got the team but she was entitled to sit

in the owners suite. Jimmy was so furious he built a petition down the middle so he couldn't see her.

 

Of course, things went bad for Jimmy going on drugs about that time. He went thru re-hab and

Tagliabue met with him and recommended he hire Polian as GM and Dungy as coach and stay

out of things. Jimmy did and Tags got him counseling.

 

Jimmy of course was suspended last year for drugs as he had a relapse.

 

Not to change the topic but Peter Angelos is about 89 now and will have to step down. He

already retired from the law firm and his sons will take over the team. From what I heard they

are worse than Petey for the 15 years he destroyed one of the best franchises in sports.

 

The team is good again after all those losing seasons.

 

Lord help us when the sons take over.

[thundercleetz]

Interesting stuff TBird, as always.

 

As far as the O's are concerned, Angelos has two sons: Louis and John. Louis does not have any known roles within the organization, and allegedly doesn't have much interest. John is the President/COO of both the Orioles and MASN. He has had a positive impact on the organization. He has been instrumental in the MASN deal and pending lawsuit with the MLB, which has been a huge stream of revenue for the team. He also negotiated the O's new spring training home in Sarasota, which is widely regarded as one of the best spring training complexes in the entire league.

 

While both sons are likely to have an ownership stake in the team, it appears John is the one who will take over. I don't think John would be any worse than Peter. At least John has been trained within the organization and wouldn't be thrown in cold like Peter was. John has also been open and engaging with the fans via Twitter and fan events. A stark contrast from his father, who rarely grants interviews.

[thundercleetz]

Also, Bisciotti's comments about adding a retractable roof to M&T is interesting. I don't think it's a coincidence the team re-upped with M&T Bank on naming rights through the exact end of the lease. The team is posturing itself for a negotiation on a major renovation it seems like. If the stadium gets a roof, naming rights will be much more expensive because the stadium could then host more concerts and NCAA events. Therefore, if Bisciotti is not the owner, it may get ugly. However, hopefully by then retractable roof technology is more advanced and easier to implement, and the building and construction industry is in better shape than it is today (building costs are currently very expensive comparatively speaking).

[Tornado700]

Yeah, we are all pretty lucky to have the two owners that we have in Baltimore. Now give me three seconds to duck...

[TBird]

Interesting stuff TBird, as always.

 

As far as the O's are concerned, Angelos has two sons: Louis and John. Louis does not have any known roles within the organization, and allegedly doesn't have much interest. John is the President/COO of both the Orioles and MASN. He has had a positive impact on the organization. He has been instrumental in the MASN deal and pending lawsuit with the MLB, which has been a huge stream of revenue for the team. He also negotiated the O's new spring training home in Sarasota, which is widely regarded as one of the best spring training complexes in the entire league.

 

While both sons are likely to have an ownership stake in the team, it appears John is the one who will take over. I don't think John would be any worse than Peter. At least John has been trained within the organization and wouldn't be thrown in cold like Peter was. John has also been open and engaging with the fans via Twitter and fan events. A stark contrast from his father, who rarely grants interviews.

I didn't know that about JOhn. I was going by when he was young and running things when Petey

took over. A family friend was a secretary for 30 yrs for the Os and John Angelos did nothing for her

in the way of a retirement party which was lunch by some office friends. She was pissed at John.

 

I also had friends that were ushers for 20 yrs after Angelos took over and they didn't like John either.

They said he has his thumb on everything and does stuff that comes all the way down to their level

that makes them miserable.

 

So those are friends with bad experiences from John Angelos within the organization by it sounds

like he's grown from the old days according to your report. I read where he also goes around the

country advocating that MLB act like the NFL owners with teams sharing revenues.

 

It would make baseball stronger and they would go back to being America's game but the Yankees

stop it. They don't care about the small markets.

 

Guess who was in first place last time I looked.

 

Anyway, it sounds like John is a lot better from the old days as far as business but I'm not sure

about his inter-personal skills.

[Spen]

It's interesting that Steve said he could possibly sell within 10 years. He might not always be an owner

and wouldn't want to be one at 65 and threatening the city to move his team ala Irsay. He's 55 now.

 

I'd hate to go through a change of owners again. I thought Steve would leave the team to his sons.

Reads to me like he wants to keep owning the team unless upgrades are not done to the stadium. If not then he might sell and another owner might threaten to move. If upgrades are done he can see reupping the lease for another 30 years. Nice. Vague threats already.

 

I hope the league and game lasts but I would not mind if it imploded somewhat and the NFL was no longer the behemoth that it is now. Focus more on the game and less on the pageantry of the league. Have owners stop making threats and getting whatever they want often at the expense of the cities the reside in. Plus have the games more affordable and accessable for the average fans.

 

For the 3 hours each week during game time I love football as much as I ever did. Beyond that I think far less of the league and game than I did 10 years ago.

Edited July 29, 2015 by Spen

[thundercleetz]

I didn't know that about JOhn. I was going by when he was young and running things when Petey

took over. A family friend was a secretary for 30 yrs for the Os and John Angelos did nothing for her

in the way of a retirement party which was lunch by some office friends. She was pissed at John.

 

I also had friends that were ushers for 20 yrs after Angelos took over and they didn't like John either.

They said he has his thumb on everything and does stuff that comes all the way down to their level

that makes them miserable.

 

So those are friends with bad experiences from John Angelos within the organization by it sounds

like he's grown from the old days according to your report. I read where he also goes around the

country advocating that MLB act like the NFL owners with teams sharing revenues.

 

It would make baseball stronger and they would go back to being America's game but the Yankees

stop it. They don't care about the small markets.

 

Guess who was in first place last time I looked.

 

Anyway, it sounds like John is a lot better from the old days as far as business but I'm not sure

about his inter-personal skills.

Well I wasn't speaking to his personality. Just because he answers a few fan questions on Twitter doesn't make him a good guy. As a president and COO I'm sure he is every bit of a cold-blooded, micro manager as you mention. That seems to be an Angelos trait.

 

What you said about John and revenue sharing and a salary cap is correct. I wonder if that's an indication of how much he'd spend as an owner?

 

Regardless, the MASN lawsuit is the single biggest issue right now that could affect the Orioles future. If the lawsuit is in favor of the O's, the team will be assured of having a TV deal equivalent to a large market team for years. If the team loses and has to give more money to the Nats, the team's revenue will be more in line with a mid-market team and I'm sure the payroll will contract. People love to to criticize Peter Angelos for not spending, but we have the 12th highest payroll in the league right there with Seattle, Toronto and St. Louis. That's because of the great job Angelos did with negotiating the MASN deal with the MLB.

[thundercleetz]

Reads to me like he wants to keep owning the team unless upgrades are not done to the stadium. If not then he might sell and another owner might threaten to move. If upgrades are done he can see reupping the lease for another 30 years. Nice. Vague threats already.

 

I hope the league and game lasts but I would not mind if it imploded somewhat and the NFL was no longer the behemoth that it is now. Focus more on the game and less on the pageantry of the league. Have owners stop making threats and getting whatever they want often at the expense of the cities the reside in. Plus have the games more affordable and accessable for the average fans.

 

For the 3 hours each week during game time I love football as much as I ever did. Beyond that I think far less of the league and game than I did 10 years ago.

I did not interpret it as a threat. I think Bisciotti is honestly stating the reality of the business. He doesn't want to be that guy who is engaged in an ugly battle over a stadium. I respect him that he isn't sugar coating this. This is something every team/city goes through, as you mention later in your post. I'm not worried, this isn't the Colts/NFL in the 80s where nearly every team had attendance issues. Our attendence isn't going anywhere, and no way a team leaves a market that has among the top attendence in the NFL on a yearly basis. In 5-10 years LA will already have a team, and possibly London. There will be no more viable markets available unless some crazy politician makes some sort of insane deal, which I guess is possible.

 

The fact of the matter is attending NFL games isn't for the average fan anymore. It's about corporate suites and reaching the affluent fan base. I don't mind I much more enjoy watching at home and posting in the ER game day topic