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De La Hoya to become part owner of the Dynamo

Oscardelahoya_ap

The Houston Chronicle’s Bernardo Fallas is reporting that boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya is lining up to become part owner of the Houston Dynamo. It appears Anschutz Entertainment Group is preparing to sell as much as half of its stake in the Dynamo.

According to a source with knowledge of the deal, De La Hoya and fellow investor Gabriel Brener will each purchase 25 percent stakes in the Dynamo. With the estimated value of the Dynamo rated at more than $40 million, the sale could net AEG more than $20 million.

So what should we make of this news? New blood in the ownership ranks is always a good thing and De La Hoya would help bring some more credibility to a league that is growing at a steady rate.

And why is AEG selling? It is no secret that AEG has wanted to sell the franchise since it arrived from San Jose. The sale tells me that the stadium project the club is working on in Houston is in strong enough shape for AEG to make this move. You can put this one on the books as well. Once a Houston soccer stadium is built AEG will sell its remaining stake in the Dynamo and retain the stadium’s operating rights.

What do you think of this news? Like the idea of the ‘Golden Boy’ owning an MLS club? Surprised to see AEG selling off yet another piece of its once great MLS monopoly? Could the move lead to the Dynamo actually using its designated player slot? If anything, De La Hoya deserves credit for still wanting to by the team after it was thrashed by Gamba Osaka, 6-1, in the Pan Pacific Championship final late Saturday night (okay, I’m kidding).

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Thats good that he purchased that team but come on Oscar you are from LA not from Houston! You should have bought Galaxy or made up a team of MEXICANS dummy!

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  2. @Posted by: JUST WONDERING | February 26, 2008 at 10:13 AM the teams still make money from all MLS events they just don’t pull as much/none from the other events. They almost all have buyout clauses to take the rights from AEG (like RBNY exercised and like Andell is looking into doing in Chicago)

    as far as De La Hoya owning; why not? The sooner we get out of having multiple teams owned by one person the better. Also, he is beloved in the Mexican community in LA, I can’t speak for Houston but I can’t imagine it’s much different.

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  3. He better know that this takes a shitload more imagination and integrity to promote than a damn boxing match.

    I welcome the diversity in ownership (no, I’m not talking about skin color), but I’m also concerned about his commitment to this franchise, it’s future and his ability to contribute to the success of the league.

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  4. It is great that AEG builds these sss, but they own the rights. Does mls teams actually profit or does AEG? Then they use these stadiums for concerts that tear up the field and put damn football lines in Dallas (owned by the Hunts) that is rubbish!! AEG has been goood to and for the mls, but hey are the only ownwers to really pull profits because of the sss!!!!

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  5. Nice job, AEG. DeLaJ and Brener give AEG 20 million, they turn around and use that as part of their piece of the stadium. This is actually the first domino that will make the stadium happen. AEG will now feel good about paying for their part of it.

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  6. I think that it’s cool for the team to have some Latino ownership. The Dynamo supporters are a really diverse group and folks with Latino heritage are a big piece of the pie. In my opinion, the Houston Astros have made a mistake by not making more of an effort to connect with this part of the local community (they rarely have more than one or two non-white players in their entire squad and have passed up several opportunities to bring in a big name Latino player in favor of the aging, expensive and white “Killer Bs” core of the team). The Dynamo, on the other hand, do a lot of marketing to their Latino fans already (they even have Hispanic oriented sponsors and sequences in their half time shows). This move has got to solidify that direction. Not to mention the star power that De La Hoya brings to a town which is definitely not LA or NYC; this could really get a lot of people from all backgrounds taking notice. It’s nice to see.

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  7. I dunno. I’m always a little worried about owners who don’t necessarily have relevant experience. I know, he’s got sports and sports promotion experience, so it’s not a total longshot. But boxing is a very different sport, and I don’t know anything about the business qualifications of the people De La Hoya and Brener would want to put in place. (Maybe they’re great.) Or would they even put anybody in place–will AEG retain operational control even with a 50% stake?

    I guess it’s good for the league’s credibility to have different owners. But it’s not as if AEG had done a bad job with the Dynamo. (Maybe we could convince De La Hoya to buy the Galaxy instead? We could throw in that box of Cheerios.)

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  8. as a Dynamo fan who is not of Hispanic/Latino descent, I would like to know what Hispanics/Latinos in Houston think of this…if any Houston fans are here, does De La Hoya carry any “real” weight in the Hispanic/Latino community locally? Does this solidify the entire extended group? Or only parts of it? Does his involvement “legitimize” it?

    I’m personally not sure why he’s involved, but I am glad to see someone of his “gravity” involved with the team, and I’ll be even happier if this finalizes the stadium deal…

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  9. De La Hoya has over 180 million in earnings from his boxing career alone. 10 mil for 25% leaves plenty of DP money, especially if he is splitting the bill with other owners. And I’d fear a Bare, Ching, De Rosario attack. Nasty.

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  10. What I’d like to see is the Houston Dynamo pay what it takes to get Bare from Gamba Osaka.

    That guy carved up Houston’s backline! It was so easy for him, he made it look effortless. That’s the forward Houston needs, time to spend DP money to get him.

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  11. i think it is great for the league. the de la hoya is a successful athlete and business man. he also knows how to market to the latin american community. i’m excited to see how he will influence the dynamo and the league in the next few years.

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  12. It is interesting, but let’s not get too carried away with celebrity ownership…it happened back in the old NASL days, and we can all see what Peter Frampton’s ownership stake in the Philadelphia Fury meant to the league. Still, I think it’s good for the league.

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  13. De La Hoya is a class act with a great eye for marketing. I think him and his company Golden Boy will be a great addition to MLS and the less influence AEG has over the league the better.

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  14. Can we worry about the league being a rival to the mexican, chilean, argentinian, brazilan leagues first. Lets try to win competitions that are existing (concacaf champ cup, copa libs if invited) and not just the ones we make up (i.e. world series of football, superliga)

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  15. finally. AEG should’ve done this a while ago. for any league to be credible, you have to have owners owning only one team. soon enough, this league will rival those of europe. FACT.

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  16. Well, ok, but only if he dresses in drag!
    *obscure reference*

    De La Hoya would be an awesome addition to Houston (my second fav MLS team).

    I am telling you . . . the soccer growth down there . . . I LOVE it. And De La would only help.

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  17. de la Hoya will add name recognition and it’s always good to break up the AEG “monopoly.” Houston deserves owners with passion and commitment to the team/area. Great news for MLS. At worst, it isn’t bad, and at best this is a great move.

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  18. I feel this can give the league boost. MLS needs to get in to mainstream sports culture somehow. So with people like Oscar De La Hoya and Drew Carey (and maybe Steve Nash) owning teams, it can show that soccer is worth watching if people are willing to invest.

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  19. This is a very good move. One owner per team is essential for the league to grow. Although AEG will still have 50%, its definitely a move in the right direction.

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  20. Nice to add his profile to the league. Also interesting that while he is not poor by any means he is no billionaire – I assume that he thinks he will make money.

    As I said, interesting.

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