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Lerner group closes purchase of Nationals
By Associated Press
Jul 24, 2006 - 10:03:00 PM

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WASHINGTON - A group led by local real estate developer Ted Lerner and Stan Kasten officially took control of the Washington Nationals on Monday, finalizing the $450 million purchase of the club from Major League Baseball.

Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner, center, hands out free baseball hats to fans with his son Jacob, right, at RFK Stadium on Friday, July 21, 2006, in Washington, before the Nationals played the Chicago Cubs in a baseball game. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)


Lerner is the managing principal owner, and his son Mark and sons-in-law Edward Cohen and Robert Tanenbaum are principal owners. Kasten, a former executive with the Atlanta Braves and the NHL's Thrashers and NBA's Hawks, is the team president.

"It has long been my dream to bring the national pastime back to my hometown, the nation's capital," Ted Lerner said. "Now that it's been realized, I plan on doing everything I can to make sure that this franchise becomes an international jewel for MLB, D.C. and the nation."

Less than half an hour after announcing that the team's sale was finalized, the Nationals said they hired the Arizona Diamondbacks vice president of scouting operations, Mike Rizzo, as an assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations.

"Under new ownership and the leadership of Stan Kasten, I have been given the approval and resources to hire the best and brightest the baseball industry has to offer, and today's hiring of Mike Rizzo exemplifies this," Washington GM Jim Bowden said.

Rizzo, who worked seven seasons with Arizona, is one of three assistant general managers and will be in charge of the scouting operation. Dana Brown remains director of amateur scouting, and Bowden said the club will hire a director of professional scouting and a director of international scouting — Brown and the other two will report to Rizzo.

One of Rizzo's areas of focus will be boosting the Nationals' reach abroad, scouting prospects in Latin America and Asia.

The Lerner group was chosen in May by commissioner Bud Selig from among eight bidders to buy the Nationals. Baseball's other 29 teams purchased the poor-drawing Montreal Expos for $120 million in 2002, and moved the club to Washington for the 2005 season.

After going 81-81 and averaging 33,728 fans at home in 2005, the Nationals are 43-56, last in the NL East, and drawing 27,033 per game.

"I am extremely pleased to welcome the Lerner family and their partners into Major League Baseball," Selig said. "As I've come to know Ted and his family better over the past several weeks, I'm more certain than ever that they will provide the kind of committed and stable ownership that will help this franchise flourish in the D.C. area for years and years to come."


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