Seibu For Sale
Discussion in the NPB News forum
Comments
Re: Seibu For Sale
[ Author: Guest: steve | Posted: Nov 7, 2004 5:11 PM
]
Seibu owns the Dome. Would the amusement park be part of the sale as well? The asking price is high, but that stadium is a nightmare to get to and come back from. Omiya or Urawa would be pretty good places for them to put a team (both J-League teams draw pretty well, I think - especially URAWA).
What's the count now? 3 owner resignations, 1 merger, 2 possible sales, and an expansion team - amazing.
What's the count now? 3 owner resignations, 1 merger, 2 possible sales, and an expansion team - amazing.
Re: Seibu For Sale
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Nov 8, 2004 7:57 AM
| HAN Fan
]
If I were a prospective buyer I would be looking very hard at the figures - especially attendance figures. Even with the habit in Japan of owning a baseball team for PR purposes this is not a good deal. I would certainly look at off-loading the stadium and moving the team or buying the team without the stadium. Given why Seibu are selling the team they are not in a strong position to insist on their conditions.
Re: Seibu For Sale
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Nov 9, 2004 11:25 AM
| HAN Fan
]
Kokudo has put the sale of the Lions on hold. They were unable to generate any interest at the price they wanted.
Re: Seibu For Sale
[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Nov 10, 2004 11:31 AM
]
Re: Seibu For Sale
[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Jan 1, 2005 7:29 AM
]
Seibu sold the naming rights of their minor league team to Invoice, and Invoice president Ikuo Kimura said that Invoice is hoping to gain the naming rights of the Seibu Dome in the future. [Link - Daily Yomiuri]
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Yes, the Seibu Lions, bought in the fall of 1978 from Crown Lighter and built into a team that has won 15 league championships and the Nippon Series 9 times since then is up for sale. But making a championship team isn't enough to draw a crowd to Tokorozawa. For example, Daiei is able to draw over 300-man customers a year win or lose, but Seibu has yet to break the 200-man barrier.
Not only is the 200-oku yen price tag out of Livedoor's price range, but it's 100-oku yen more than Daiei and comes with Seibu Dome and a condition that the team must continue to use Seibu Dome as its home. Unless the team can move to a busy hub (like Ohmiya if it stays in Saitama), I don't see how a team can be profitable. The location prevents attracting a crowd, as I've mentioned a number of times before.
CS satalite TV provider Sky Perfect Communications has expressed interest in buying a team, as has TV Asahi.
After all the aborted attempts at destroying the Pacific League during the season, it appears to be their destiny nonetheless. If Daiei (to SoftBank) and Seibu are both sold this off season, that will leave Lotte and Nippon Ham as the only two untouched teams in 2005, two teams that saw tremendous growth in customers in 2004.