Baltimore's National Football League hopes, which seemed to be fading in recent weeks, received new life yesterday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went up for sale and Peter Angelos said he would take up the chase.
Officials running the team for the heirs of deceased owner Hugh Culverhouse said they would prefer to sell to someone who would keep the team in Tampa, Fla., but did not make that a condition of sale.
Mr. Angelos, majority owner of the Orioles, who is trying to bring an NFL team to Baltimore, said he would renew his offer for the Bucs. Earlier in the year, he offered an estimated $200 million for the franchise if it was moved to Baltimore.
Financial World magazine estimates that the team is worth $142 million in Tampa.
"Clearly, we have an interest, and clearly, we intend to pursue it," Mr. Angelos said.
The NFL released a statement in New York, saying, "The league would very much like to see a strong and successful team in Tampa."
The possible sale of the team had been rumored for more than a year, even before Mr. Culverhouse, who had operated the expansion franchise since its inception in 1974, died Aug. 25 of cancer. But the trustees appointed by Mr. Culverhouse to operate the team and control his other assets had said repeatedly that they were not taking offers.
That changed this week in the face of conflicts between the trustees and Mr. Culverhouse's heirs, as well as the team's dismal performance on and off the field. The Buccaneers' 2-7 record and low attendance -- averaging 44,619 so far this year with just 23,000 season tickets -- are among the worst in the NFL.
Minimum salaries required under the league's new union contract also reportedly crimped the finances of the team, once one of the most profitable in the NFL.
"They just decided the team is not going in the right direction, and maybe it's time to sell it," said one source who has discussed the matter with the trustees.
The heirs want to keep the team in Tampa and will have to approve a deal, the source said.
Mr. Culverhouse's widow, Joy, and son, Hugh Jr., went to court over the past few weeks in separate complaints related to the handling of his estate. Mrs. Culverhouse is seeking to overturn a property distribution agreement she claims she agreed to under duress, and her son accused the trustees of slander for posting a sign barring him from one of his late father's condominiums.
"Circumstances have occurred to cause the trustees to re-evaluate the feasibility of continuing to operate the team in a trust arrangement," said Steve Story, one of the three trustees overseeing the Buccaneers and the rest of Mr. Culverhouse's $360 million estate.
"It has become obvious to the trustees that, for competitive reasons, it is in the best interest of this franchise to expedite a sale of the team as swiftly as possible," Mr. Story said in a $H written statement.
Mr. Story said the trustees wanted to begin seeking a buyer now so the new owner could prepare for the 1995 season. He said the team would respond to potential buyers who previously had expressed an interest, as well as to new suitors.
Several Tampa-area investors have expressed interest. Florida-based financier Malcolm Glazer, who unsuccessfully sought a team for Baltimore when the NFL expanded last year, has inquired before and probably would do so again, according to his son, Joel.
L Joel Glazer said: "We'd probably keep the team where it is."
Mr. Angelos is negotiating to buy the Los Angeles Rams, and RTC expects to visit Southern California during the next week, but the team has indicated in recent weeks that it is leaning toward accepting an offer from St. Louis investors. Mr. Angelos also has made an offer for a portion of the Los Angeles Raiders, but owner Al Davis appears to be awaiting a decision by the Rams.
Mr. Angelos said Baltimore's offer of a publicly financed stadium, leased on terms designed to maximize team profits, would provide his investor group an edge. A team playing here would become one of the richest in sports, enabling him to offer more money than investors who intend to keep the team in Tampa, he said.
Mr. Story has said that there is no provision in Mr. Culverhouse's will that restricts the sale to local investors. But he said yesterday: "I am very aware of the importance of the Buccaneers to this area.
"We have said this before, and I want to repeat it: All things being equal, we all want very much for the team to stay in Tampa," Mr. Story said.
Legal experts said the trust probably would have to take the highest offer unless it could show another deal was somehow better.
"In essence, the trustees have the duty to make on behalf of the trust the best deal they can. They can take into consideration a number of factors. Certainly, the price is most important," said Mac Plant of Stewart, Plant & Blumenthal, a Baltimore law firm specializing in estate planning and wills.
The main beneficiaries of the trust -- Mr. Culverhouse's widow, son and daughter -- could agree to a lower price to keep the team in town, but they might face a legal challenge from their own heirs who have a stake in the deal, he said.
"There is a very strong incentive to make the best deal they can," Mr. Plant said.
However, the trustees could take a lesser offer if they could show the buyer was a better credit risk or that the deal was more likely to be completed, he said. For example, they could rule out Baltimore if they think the league could or would block the move, he said.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the team had not applied to move, so the issue has not been considered. But he said, "We very much would like to see the team remain there."
NFL rules -- the legality of which are hotly debated -- require approval of three-quarters of the other team owners before a franchise can be sold or move. A franchise must make a case for non-support at home before it can seek greener pastures.
Michael Megna, a consultant with Megna Valuations in Milwaukee, agreed that the Baltimore stadium deal should enable investors here to offer more than those in Tampa, but said that may not be enough. "That's certainly an advantage for Angelos, but I don't think that excludes anyone else," he said.
"I think it's movable. They've been so unsuccessful down there," he said.
However, he said, other markets could open up.
If the Rams move to St. Louis, someone may want to bring the Buccaneers to Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city, he said. San Antonio has a new stadium, and Memphis, Tenn., also is seeking a team.
St. Louis investors also have expressed interest in the Buccaneers.
BALTIMORE VS. TAMPA
Baltimore
Metro population -- 2.4 million, up 11 percent since 1980
TV market -- 22
Stadium -- Public funding in place for a $165 million, football-only stadium to be built adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Construction to begin upon signing of a long-term lease; opening slightly less than three years later (team would play at Oriole Park in the meantime).
Seats -- 70,000
Sky boxes -- 108
Club seats -- 7,500
Lease -- Team pays no rent, but covers game-day expenses. Team gets all revenues from tickets, sky boxes, advertising, parking, novelties and concessions. Team has effective control over non-football use of the stadium, gains no revenues from them.
Tampa-St. Petersburg
Metro population -- 2.2 million, up 34 percent since 1980
TV market -- 15
Stadium -- Tampa Stadium; opened in 1976.
Seats -- 74,301
Sky boxes -- 59, added around top of stadium after construction.
Club seats -- None
Lease --Team pays $63,000 a game and gets all game-day expenses covered. Team gets all revenue from tickets, sky boxes, advertising and 50 percent of novelties, parking and but concessions. Team gets 27 percent of the revenues from novelties, concessions and parking for non-football events. Lease runs through 2000, but can be bought out for about $7 million.