Get The Cigars Ready…Phoenix May Have Their Next Super Jerry!

I am extremely excited about the possibility of Jerry Reinsdorf buying the Coyotes and proving to the rest of North America that professional hockey can work in Phoenix.

I thought it would beneficial to find out just who is Jerry Reinsdorf. After reading this it will be clear to why I am excited about the possiblity of Jerry buying the club:

He has led owners in attempts to drive a stake into the heart of the union, but there are player agents who swear love and devotion to him. He even led the movement that ousted Fay Vincent as commissioner in 1992, but even Vincent speaks highly of Jerry.

Reinsdorf, 73, is the Owner and Chairman of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls. He started is career as a tax attorney with the IRS. He first made his fortune in real estate taking full advantage of the Frank Lyon Co. v. United States decision in the United States Supreme Court which allowed economic owners of realty to sell property and lease it back while transferring the tax deduction for depreciation to the title owner.

When Reinsdorf bought the White Sox, the club was in shambles, on and off the field. He bought the team in 1981 for $19 million and in just a short time to raised the value to $150 million.

He immediately turned the Sox around as he tripled the team promotional budget and increased the number of team scouts from 12 to 20. In just two seasons, Chicago made the playoffs and had the best record in baseball.

The franchise made the playoffs in 1983 for the first time since 1959 and won the World Series in 2005 for the first time since 1917.

The championship was the first by a Chicago baseball team in 88 years and was celebrated by a ticker-tape parade, attended by nearly 2 million Chicagoans that ran from U.S. Cellular Field through many of the city’s neighborhoods and finished in downtown Chicago.

The World Series championship boosted the value of the franchise to over $300 million. Ironically, the payroll was ranked just 13th overall.

I guess he wanted another challenge so he bought the Chicago Bulls in 1985 for $16 million, and again, immediately turned the franchise into an instant success. The team went from averaging 6,365 fans per game at the 17,339-seat Chicago Stadium in 1985 to a team with an 8,000 plus season ticket waiting list.

Of course, drafting Michael Jordan in 1984 was a huge help in the success. However, the team did fall in the first round of the playoffs. It wasn’t until 1989, that the team began to put it all together with the hiring of Phil Jackson. From November 20, 1987 through Michael Jordan’s retirement in 1999, the Bulls sold out every ballgame.

As recently as 2004, the Bulls continued to be the NBA’s most profitable team, earning $49 million in operating income and having an estimated valuation of $356 million.

During Reinsdorf’s tenure as chairman of the Bulls, the team has captured six World Championships (1991-93, ‘96-98).

During his career in professional sports, Reinsdorf has been responsible for the construction of two new sports facilities in Chicago, Comiskey Park (1991), now U.S. Cellular Field, and the United Center (1994). This past spring, the White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers opened a state-of-the-art spring training complex, named Camelback Ranch in Glendale.

Both of Reinsdorf’s sports franchises have donated millions of dollars to causes in the Chicago community through a variety of efforts, including Chicago White Sox Charities and CharitaBulls. Chicago White Sox Charities donated more than $3.2 million to 30 Chicagoland organizations in 2008, moving the team’s non-profit arm beyond $12.2 million in cumulative giving since its inception.

Another important aspect to know is that Reinsdorf worked with the Chicago Blackhawks to help build the United Center, home of the Blackhawks and Bulls.
We will begin to see in the next two-three years teams in the same city working together to capture the sports dollar. The Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians began selling suites together in effort to work together with businesses that have cut their sports marketing budgets.

Cigar Aficionado tagged Reinsdorf, ”There it is, the whole Reinsdorf package: excited sports fan; friend to players; concerned owner; shrewd negotiator; steadfast foe of unions; troubleshooter, ever loyal to The Cause”.

I can’t think of a better package to make the Coyotes succeed in Glendale.

Reinsdorf won’t win any popularity contests–but then he doesn’t want too. Over the years he has challenged the rules of the old-boy clubs that run big-time sports. He hasn’t made many friends, but has won on and off the field.

He is exactly what Phoenix needs - a high powered executive whose only business is sports unlike the Jerry Moyes, who made his money in the trucking business.

He just wants to win. And he does, on the court, on the diamond, on the court, financially and hopefully soon on the ice. He knows how to make money. He draws fans through creative and innovative marketing. He gets “IT”!

Reinsdorf’s reputation as a brutally smart, money-making sharpie has taken on epic proportions. Jerry is clearly a moving force, he knows it all–taxes, real estate and most importantly, how to run professional sports franchises.

He is perfect! I will be the first to congratulate him with a cigar during the Coyotes first “White Out” at Jobing.com.

Statistics were obtained by New York Times, Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox websites.

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