Forbes says Rays made $22 million more in 2008

SEATTLE — According to Forbes magazine, the value of the Tampa Bay Rays franchise has gone up to $320 million, a 10 percent increase over last season that is third largest in the majors.

And according to the Tampa Bay Rays, it doesn't matter.

"It is based on their own proprietary metrics. We don't and have never understood them," Tampa Bay Rays president Matt Silverman said Wednesday night.

"Clearly, our appearance in the World Series has helped the franchise's valuation. Since the team isn't for sale, the number has very little relevance."

The Rays still rank just 26th overall, with the Yankees topping the list at $1.5 billion. But, according to Forbes, the Rays had the fourth-highest operating income, $29.4 million, which it defines as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, though down slightly from last year ($30 million). Only the Marlins, Nationals and Cubs had more, but it also shows the Yankees in negative numbers, at minus-$3.7 million.

Forbes says the Rays' revenues went up from $138 million to $160 million. For more, see forbes.com.

-- Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

Comments

[Rudy]

So this means they can afford to build their own stadium, right?

[Clear Direction]

Put it in the bank Stu! You will need it for the new stadium.

Especially since nearly all of the Mayoral candidates have promised any new stadium proposal will be put before the voters regardless of location.

The more the team can bring to the deal in terms of private funding the better chance the stadium deal has of passing.

Keep the Ray's in the Burg!

[Scaramouche]

Clear, please forgive the repetition, but repitition is one really good way for people to learn:

We are getting some sense of the clear direction of the economy for a significant period yet to come. Checked the real estate market lately? Jobless numbers, published ones and the actual much larger ones? At least $3 trillion in new Funny Munny has been printed so far by the Fed and the "stimulators," and mostly just used to "make the bankers whole," the bonus babies who won't LEND the Funny Munny because that would reveal that they are bankrupt. All us actual working stiffs will be working all the rest of our lives and never getting to tax-free day (or out children's children for that matter.) You know, the end of that part of the year when all your income goes completely to pay your share of the state and federal taxes. Pretty much all because of shenanigans with "securitized" and "monetized" "derivatives," including the kind of stuff the Rays owners and other "high finance" types cooked up and sold to Bear Stearns and the wider world, a small part of which they used to buy the Rays franchise.

Excuse me, but there is no reason "the public" should have to bring ANYTHING to "the deal." Just like the Giants owners in San Francisco, these guys can write a check for a stadium any old time. Or use the smarts they employed to "securitize" and "monetize" huge parcels of bad loans to figure out a way to sucker maybe some of Madoff's marks into chipping in.

There is no reason to start up yet another raid on the taxpayers' FUTURE earnings and present pocket money by shoving another mortgage up our backsides. We are already STILL PAYING on the municipal debt our "representatives" incurred to put up the Trop, and most of the expenses of the Trop to this day. And our own community is gasping for resources to even meet peoples' basic needs, or do you not think that is maybe a higher priority than "having a nice place for the rich to spend an evening, while the poor stay home and watch TV?" Any of you honestly able to say that the Rays MLB franchise has "options" to go sucker some other municipality that is feeling the same major pain that the rest of us non-kleptocrats are? Let's see your support, if you can.

There's a great Yiddish word I may have pointed out here before: "freier." It means sucker, sap, idiot, easy mark, fool to be parted from his money and everything else related. A freier is the guy who after he finds you in bed with his wife, he gives you his car to drive home in and offers you gas money, with a big Alfred E. Newman grin. These guys from New York know intimately what a "freier" is and how to fleece one -- just read up on their business history. I personally am not in favor of turning this community into any more of a "freier" than it has already let itself become.

Go Rays players! Win lots of games! Just tell your antitrust-exempt owners that if they want to build you a new ballpark (oh, so sorry, "stadium" is the narrative of the moment, so much more redolent of the "traditions of Baseball"), they need to man up like real live capitalists, and take on the risk as well as grab the profits.

We as a nation and a community can't afford any more of the "privatizing of profits, socializing of risks" bubble-blowing.

[Tropicana Field is fine for baseball]

No need to waste any more public assets. The Trop works well and used to be a hometown advantage.

[Scaramouche]

Hey, Aaron!

Any word on the "politics unfolding behind the scene," in oh, say private meetings of mayoral candidates in Times facilities with "pro-baseball business interests?" Hey, they can meet all they want in double-secret private, as long as all they are up to is doing the cums to figure out how those "pro-baseball interests" are going to share the costs of a new stadium amongst themselves or with the Rays Boyz. But if the drift is once again toward stealing half a billion taxpayer dollars to give to the guys who helped bring you the recently popped "investment" bubble, hey! Would it not be nice and maybe a little safer for all of us in this community to share the info? Since one reads in another column in the Times about this bit of attempted clandestinia, which one a little sunshine was directed on it, at least apparently resulted in the press being allowed to sit respectfully in the back of the room.

Any other interesting "politics" or stuff about "impact on the taxpayers," which as things in the wider world are developing might be like getting run over by the garbage truck after we were hit by the limo as us crotchety cotton-tops tried to cross the street at 1st South and 15th?

[Keep up the pressure!]

Sign the petitions at www.stpetepoww.com to get the right to vote on use of public assets for any new sports facilities!

[Rick]

Amazing. Scare and Misdirection are still going at it?

[Scaramouche]

And Idiocy rejoins the party! Glad you're still checking in occasionally. Keep peddling those wooden nickels! Maybe you can sell enough to still pull off the Great Paired Redevelopment, and steal half a billion dollars from us Pinellas taxpayers to enrich your Rays owner pals.

[Clear Direction]

Aaron,

What has the ABC Coalition been up to?

I see that the Board has not met since March 23rd and is not scheduled to meet again until June 15th.

What has been going on at the sub- committee meetings that you have attended?

[Clear Direction]

I am looking forward to Aaron's next article regarding the Stadium issue.

I am pretty sure Rick K will find it enlightning!