SOURCES: MCCOURT COURTING DODGERS.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Frank McCourt, a prominent Boston-area land developer who came close to buying the Angels last year, has obtained exclusive negotiation rights with News Corp. in his quest to purchase the Dodgers, sources said Wednesday.

The sides are involved in serious talks, and an agreement could be announced at any time. It is believed McCourt would pay $330 million for the team, its spring-training site in Vero Beach, Fla., and a development facility in the Dominican Republic.

Any transaction would include Dodger Stadium, and a source said McCourt would leave the team there, even though his 2001 bid for the Boston Red Sox included a plan to move the team from Fenway Park and build a waterfront stadium in south Boston.

``There's no indication of that,'' a source close to the situation said. ``He just really wants to own a baseball team.''

The Dodgers referred questions on the matter to News Corp., which declined comment. Duffy Jennings, who is serving as a spokesman for McCourt, said Wednesday he had ``nothing to say or report at this time.''

McCourt, 49, is a scion of one of Massachusetts' most successful construction companies and is believed to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. His crown jewel is a 25-acre parcel of undeveloped waterfront land in Boston that has developed McCourt's reputation as a ``parking-lot mogul.''

Local sources said McCourt likely would need significant financial backing in order to buy the Dodgers, but they didn't expect that to be a sticking point in the transaction. McCourt's failed bid for the Red Sox included support from FleetBoston Corp. and three other firms, according to one published report.

A 2001 Boston Herald story questioned McCourt's resources and listed his primary business as renting out that undeveloped land, which is used for 2,100 parking spaces. Much of McCourt's bid was believed tied to the use of his land for the new ballpark.

``There was a very strong level of concern that he would not be able to come up with the necessary money,'' said one industry analyst familiar with McCourt's Boston bid. ``But I'm sure (the Dodgers) would be very careful and assure themselves they were dealing with somebody with the necessary resources.''

McCourt's bid for the Red Sox was rejected, and a February 2002 story in the Boston Herald cited a memo from a team lawyer who questioned McCourt's ability to come up with the cash necessary to buy the team. McCourt reportedly bid $345 million.

Regardless, that didn't stop McCourt from mounting a serious bid for the Angels. He was considered a finalist, along with theater operators James and Robert Nederlander and Arturo Moreno, who purchased the team for $180 million last year. Published reports said McCourt also had business partners for the Angels bid.

The Dodgers have negotiated with McCourt for the past few weeks, as it became increasingly clear their potential deal with Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer, at one point almost a certainty, might have to be abandoned.

Michael Vaughan, a Boston land-development consultant who has known McCourt for 10 years, called McCourt a wise businessman who is active in the community.

``He always has very high expectations,'' Vaughan said, ``and he's a very good negotiator. He's not a guy who rushes into things, and he's a guy who does it himself. He has good people around him, but at the end of the day he does it himself.''

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. acquired the Dodgers from Peter O'Malley for $311 in a sale that was approved in March 1998.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com