Only a few hours after I posted a listing of the major players in the effort to bring the Montreal Expos to Washington, D.C., Newsday is reporting that there's a new player trying to fight his way to the table -- and he's from Long Island:
Long Island real estate magnate Mark Broxmeyer has entered a spirited competition to buy the Montreal Expos, making his desires known in an initial meeting Friday with top Major League Baseball executives.Broxmeyer, founding partner of Commack-based Fairfield Properties and author of a true rags-to-riches story, is assembling what he termed a "dream team" in his effort to win baseball's approval to purchase the Expos and move them to the Washington, D.C., area. Broxmeyer declined to name other members of his team beyond brother Gary and son Michael, but speculation centers on heavyweight political figures, considering Broxmeyer's background. Broxmeyer has ties to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, two men who could add considerable luster, and loot in Forbes' case, to Broxmeyer's team.
The paper has some more details on Broxmeyer, a pal of Rudy Giuliani and considered one of America's leading authorities on Israeli security, here. The results of a Google search on his name is here. A quick look over at Open Secrets reveals that Broxmeyer has mostly supported Republicans like Steve Forbes and Rick Lazio over the past few years, with exceptions to support Democratic incumbents in the New York House delegation like Gary Ackerman and Carolyn McCarthy.
One prediction: his effort to purchase the Expos is going to get short shrift here in the D.C. area, at least in the pages of the Washington Post. He's a Washington outsider through and through, and that won't help him with the local press.
Stay tuned. I think the price of the Expos just got a little higher.
UPDATE: Added two more links to the Expos listing on the left:
UPDATE: The Washington Times has a profile of Broxmeyer that includes this interesting tidbit:
[T]he Malek and Collins group hold exclusivity pacts with the District of Columbia and Virginia, respectively. Those contracts, while not ironclad against the wishes of MLB, do provide some protection. Should MLB select another owner to own a District-based team, Malek's group would receive either the opportunity to buy at least 10 percent of the club or be reimbursed for lost opportunity costs and expenses up to $4 million. Should MLB bypass Collins' group in Virginia, they also likely would be entitled to substantial compensation.
Here's a link to the Post's profile of Broxmeyer. The Times also mentions that a bid is possible from the Bethesda-based Ted Lerner family -- owner of a chain of shopping malls, hotels, and other real estate.
