Blackstone Group to manage sale of Dodgers

City News Service

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball announced Tuesday night that they have agreed to a court supervised process to sell the team.’’

The Blackstone Group LP, which in February became the majority owner of the Hotel Del Coronado and is the owner of SeaWorld, will manage the sale process, according to the announcement.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to order the Dodgers sold. Frank McCourt had long said he would not sell the team.

The Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, after McCourt claimed that Selig’s rejection of a media rights deal left him without the funds to meet the team’s payroll.

McCourt was also under pressure to find funds to pay his former wife Jamie the reported $130 million called for in their divorce settlement.

The divorce case revealed that the McCourt used millions of dollars of Dodger funds to finance their luxurious lifestyle, including the purchase of multiple homes.