By GIL LeBRETON
glebreton@star-telegram.com
DALLAS — With a Friday deadline for proposals fast approaching, Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks revealed Wednesday his plan to assemble a group of local investors.
The first two rabbits out of the hat: Roger Staubach and Nolan Ryan.
The third rabbit: Hicks himself, who apparently still would be in charge.
"This has never been about me selling the Rangers," Hicks said. "The question is how do we monetize the Texas Rangers in a way to pay down or eliminate the Hicks Sports Group’s debt."
Three groups previously announced plans to make formal bids for the club. They are headed by Chuck Greenberg, a Pittsburgh-based attorney and former minor league franchise owner; Houston businessman Jim Crane; and former sports agent Dennis Gilbert, a special advisor to the Chicago White Sox.
An unnamed fourth group entered the picture Wednesday morning, Hicks said. Hicks’ local-based group would be the fifth.
"I’m exploring my own group," Hicks said. "The key is I want it to be local. I have gotten commitments from Nolan Ryan and Roger Staubach that they would invest and be part of the group.
"We want to build support for the Texas Rangers in our market. Our plan is five years old, and it started this past year to be appreciated by the fans. We’ve still got miles to go, but the more local ownership the better for the Texas Rangers."
Few among the Rangers’ long-suffering following would deny that. A strong local ownership base is always an asset.
But if it is the Hicks group’s current cash bind that has put the franchise on uncertain financial footing, what makes Hicks think that Major League Baseball owners would vote to allow him to keep the team?
When I tried to clarify Wednesday just who would be recommending sale proposals to whom, Hicks answered directly, "I own the team. I’m the one selling it.
"There’s a process," Hicks said. "I’ve committed to MLB to this process, and I’m going to honor that.
"I want to see what their best proposals are."
Not to quibble over the legalese, but the Hicks Sports Group does own the team, and it will be the entity whose signatures will be on the sale papers.
But if the final say on the sale belongs to Hicks, why is he preparing to submit a proposal to himself?
All reasonable signs point to the sale of the Rangers being subject to the recommendations and approval of Major League Baseball — and, because of the multiple financial strings attached, to the approvals of the National Hockey League and the Hicks Sports Group’s 40 lenders.
The baseball lords have been dealing with the franchise’s shaky financial underpinnings for more than a year. The commissioner’s office has to be asking itself, who will be the best stewards of this baseball team going forward?
Which ownership group will be the most stable?
Which group has the best chance to hit the ground running?
I don’t have a vote in that election, but I don’t see how MLB could see Hicks — or his hastily formed local group — as the answer to any of those questions.
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