Value of seven L.A. area teams posts 10% gain.

The value of the seven major professional sports franchises in the Los Angeles area rose an average of 10 percent in the last year, according to an annual industry survey to be published today (May 9) by Financial World magazine.

The only Southland team to decline in value over the past year was the baseball California Angels, which calls Anaheim home. The magazine said the value of the Angels declined by 11 percent, from $105 million to $93 million.

The New York-based magazine found the local franchise with the biggest rise in value was the basketball Los Angeles Clippers, which plays home games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The franchise, owned by local real estate investor Donald Sterling, increased in value by more than 50 percent, from $54 million to $83 million.

However, the information contained in the story does not include figures from the just-concluded regular basketball season. The Clippers just finished one of their poorest seasons since moving to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984. The team, which finished the season with a 27-55 won-lost record, drew an average home crowd of 11,489 compared to 12,991 in the 1992-93 National Basketball Association season. Total attendance for the 41 home games was 471,034 compared to 532,632 in the 1992-93 season.

Previous to the just-concluded regular NBA season, the Clippers had reported attendance had been growing about 5 or 6 percent a year. Clippers officials were not immediately available last week to comment on the Financial World report.

A spokesman for the magazine, Tom Gibson, said the Clippers' value went up because of an increase in ticket sale receipts and because of increased television revenue. He noted that the value of professional sports teams increased an average of 15 percent in the past year.

Most professional franchises in the major sports of baseball, football, basketball and hockey are owned by private companies and therefore are not required to disclose financial information. All of the local franchises are owned by private companies or individuals.

The Financial World report is one of the few sources of financial information available on individual teams. The report is based on revenue estimates from game tickets, television and radio contracts, merchandise sales and stadium parking, as well as costs associated with operations, player salaries and stadium use. The magazine report does not include figures from the 1993-94 winter sports season of basketball and hockey that just recently concluded regular-season schedules.

According to the report, the value of the area's two professional football teams -- the Rams and the Raiders -- also increased significantly over the last year. The Rams' value went up 15 percent from $128 million to $148 million while the Raiders' worth increased 17 percent from $124 million in May 1993 to $146 million in May 1994.

The value of all National Football League teams increased significantly in the last 12 months because of a new four-year, $1.5 billion television contract the league signed with the Fox network earlier this year. The previous four-year contract with CBS was worth $1 billion. All of the 28 NFL teams share in the revenue from national television contracts, which were worth at least $40 million to each franchise in the fall 1993 season.

The three most valuable professional sports franchises in North America are National Football League teams: the Dallas Cowboys ($190 million), the New York Giants ($176 million) and the Philadelphia Eagles ($172 million).

In recent months, there has been a lot of speculation about the future homes of the Rams, which play their home games in Anaheim, and the Raiders.

The Raiders play home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was damaged in the Jan. 17 earthquake but is expected to be ready for the fall 1994 football season. There has been speculation that Rams owner Georgia Frontiere is interested in selling or moving the team, or both, and that Raiders general partner Al Davis is thinking of moving the team out of Los Angeles.

Officials from both teams have declined to comment on the speculation.

The fourth most valuable franchise in professional sports in North America is the basketball Los Angeles Lakers, whose value went up 8 percent to $168 million. A year ago, the magazine put a value of $155 million on the Lakers, which play their home games at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.

The team, whose home attendance has dropped over the past couple of seasons, is owned by Jerry Buss. Bob Steiner, a spokesman for Buss, said the Lakers team has been able to maintain a somewhat strong and loyal fan base, however, by providing more services to paying customers.

He said while the Lakers' on-court performance has slipped, the team has increased the number of fan giveaways and meets regularly with season-ticket holders to listen to their complaints and suggestions.

Value of Los Angeles-area professional sports teams

                       Value                           Percent
                        in             Current         increase
Team                 May 1993           value         (decrease)

Angels           $105 million        $93 million         (11%)
Clippers          $54 million        $83 million           53%
Dodgers          $135 million       $138 million            2%
Kings             $71 million        $85 million           19%
Lakers           $155 million       $168 million            8%
Raiders          $124 million       $146 million           17%
Rams             $128 million       $148 million           15%

Source: Financial World magazine

Though the Los Angeles Dodgers' on-field performance has slipped in recent years, the value of the baseball team is still among the highest of all professional sports teams, according to the magazine study. The magazine said the value of the Dodgers, owned by the Peter O'Malley family, has increased from $135 million a year ago to $138 million, a 2 percent hike.

The area's newest professional sports team -- the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League -- was not included in the report but the study did include the Los Angeles Kings. The value of the NHL Kings increased 19 percent, from $71 million to $85 million, the magazine said.

In recent years the Kings franchise has been the most successful of any of the local teams in terms of attendance. The team sells out almost every game at the Great Western Forum but NHL teams are hurt by the lack of any major national television contract. All of the other major professional sports have big television contracts.

Bruce McNall near sale of Kings hockey team

Bruce McNall's proposed sale of a majority interest in the Los Angeles Kings hockey team was close to being completed last week, said a spokesman for the team.

The spokesman said completion of the sale to two Los Angeles businessmen was "imminent" but he could not provide further details.

Completion of the transaction to sell a 65 percent stake in the team to Jeffrey Sudikoff and Joseph Cohen was reported near after the investors had received financing for the deal.

Meanwhile, there were new reports last week that McNall was also close to selling the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League for $4.5 million.

McNall, 44, has owned the Kings outright since 1988 but has since encountered some serious financial problems that have been detailed in published reports. In addition, McNall is the subject of a federal grand jury probe in Los Angeles into possible falsification of loan documents.

In addition to the Kings and Argonauts, McNall's other business interests include trading and collecting coins, race horses and a few entertainment-industry projects.

McNall announced the tentative deal to sell a majority interest in the Kings for $60 million earlier this year. Shortly after the announcement, the speculation and published reports began about his financial problems.

Until recently, McNall has been considered a man with a golden touch when it came to business deals. His vehicle to fame has been the Kings, a team that sells out just about every one of its home games at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.

Under terms of the transaction, Sudikoff, chairman of Culver City-based IDB Communications Group Inc., and Cohen, an IDB board member, would create a new company that would own the Kings and build a new indoor sports arena for the team. McNall would also be part of the new company but would hold a minority position in the organization.

IDB, a telecommunications company involved in domestic and international satellite transmissions, is not itself part of the proposed Kings deal.

The Kings currently lease playing time at the Forum, which is owned by Jerry Buss, owner of the basketball Los Angeles Lakers and the person who sold the hockey team to McNall.

Buss has said he is open to a joint venture with the Kings' owners to build a new indoor arena that both teams could use.

The cost of the new arena, which would include luxury boxes, has been reported to be in the $125 million range. A site for the arena has not been selected. The parties involved in the construction have not ruled out the possibility of building the new arena next to the Forum.