Josh Harris and David Blitzer interested in purchasing the Mets, could the Sixers be on the move?
- In recent, “I hate billionaires” news, two men who already own two professional sports franchises want to buy a third.
Sixers and New Jersey Devils owners, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, are the latest duo to come a courtin’ the New York Mets. According to the New York Post, Harris and Blitzer have shown interest in purchasing the Mets for months, but it wasn’t until recently their attempts to buy the team became serious.
The shortened MLB season has cost the Mets a lot of money, so much so that their ownership is desperate to sell the team. They’ve already exhausted all their lines of credit paying off their two $22 million annual payments to New York City and there are growing concerns they won’t be able to make the payments come next season. Enter Harris and Blitzer, who are looking to leverage the situation against the Mets and purchase the team for as little money as possible.
It’s crazy to think that only a few months ago, Harris and Blitzer wanted to make company wide salary cuts after the NBA’s suspension to save themselves from losing money, and now they’re trying to buy a baseball team that loses at least $50 million annually. This is a good reminder that we should all rise up and eat the rich.
The news of Harris and Blitzer’s interest in the Mets has led many to believe the group may eventually sell the Sixers. As great as that would be, I have a different tin foil hat theory. I hate the idea of it, but who doesn’t love a good conspiracy theory.
As Mets ownership continues to position themselves to sell, there are now reports that they would also be willing to part with their television network, SNY. Harris and Blitzer are hoping to acquire SNY and turn it into a “super regional” sports network for the Mets, Devils, and Sixers. A great idea to piss off a lot of Philadelphians.
There are somethings that are standing in the way of moving the Sixers to this hypothetical sports network though. For starters, NBC Sports Philadelphia holds the Sixers’ regional television rights. NBC is owned by Comcast. Comcast Spector owns the Wells Fargo Center, home of the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcasting studios. This just shows Harris and Blitzer possess very little of what would be needed to move the Sixers to a new sports network.
Of course, if Harris and Blitzer were to build their own arena, things could change. There have been rumors about the Sixers moving to New Jersey ever since Harris first purchased the team. Moving the Sixers to Camden would put them closer to their practice facility and give Harris and Blitzer three teams within relatively close proximity of each other. This would be their best chance of making a “super regional” sports network, but I suppose it would just be “regional” at that point. Like I said, tin foil hat theory.
Harris and Blitzer are still facing competition for the Mets in the way of Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez. While it’s hard to envision Harris and Blitzer being outbid, the news of their interest could spark competition in the market, driving up the price of the Mets.
