Baseball: Pirates owner rejected Lemieux offer to buy team

PITTSBURGH - Pirates owner Bob Nutting declined to listen to separate proposals to buy the team last year, including a surprise bid from Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, officials with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press.

The officials spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

Pittsburgh lawyer Chuck Greenberg, a successful minor league team owner whose holdings once included a Pirates farm club, made several inquiries about the Pirates before joining Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan in a successful bid to buy the Texas Rangers. That deal was completed last week.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported Saturday that Lemieux and Ron Burkle made an unsolicited offer for the Pirates four months ago - one that was substantial and serious, a person with knowledge of the offer told The Associated Press. That offer came after Nutting declined several times to discuss selling to Greenberg, who subsequently turned his attention to the Rangers.

Several years ago, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban also was told the team wasn't for sale when he sought to buy it.

Nutting gave all the interested parties the same answer: The Pirates aren't for sale, and the discussions went no further.

All of those interested in the Pirates have lengthy backgrounds in pro sports.

Greenberg has been a successful minor league owner, and his teams included the Pirates' Double-A affiliate in Altoona, Pa., that was partially owned by Lemieux until being sold two years ago.

Lemieux, the Hall of Fame player, bought the Penguins in federal bankruptcy court in 1999 - a year later, he came out of retirement became pro sports' first owner-player - and has since seen them become one of the NHL's most successful franchises.

Burkle, a California billionaire investor and supermarket operator who joined Lemieux's group in 1999 by making a $20 million investment, was interested previously in buying the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs.

While the Pirates acknowledge they are profitable, they aren't successful. They lost 99 games last year during a major league-record 17th consecutive losing season, then raised fans' ire by trimming their payroll below that of the 1992 Pirates, the franchise's last team to make the playoffs.

The Pirates' projected $35 million payroll is only about half of the totals for NL Central rivals Cincinnati and Milwaukee, despite being in a similar-sized market, and is expected to be the lowest in the majors by at least $5 million.

The Pirates' ownership has hinted repeatedly that the payroll won't increase substantially until top prospects have reached the majors and adding higher-salaried players might make the difference in winning a championship.

That Nutting wouldn't consider a proposal from the popular Lemieux, a Pittsburgh sports icon who has revived the Penguins twice - once as a player and again as an owner - is likely to generate further fan unrest.

Last season, Forbes estimated the Pirates' worth at $288 million, less than that of any team except the Florida Marlins, who currently play in an NFL stadium. The Pirates play in PNC Park, which has been repeatedly praised by visiting players and team executives as being one of baseball's best ballparks.

Nutting's family owns a Wheeling, W.Va.-based newspaper chain and first became involved in the Pirates' ownership group when California newspaper heir Kevin McClatchy bought the team in 1996. The Nuttings subsequently began to increase their shares by buying out partners of the once-large ownership group and now own a substantial portion of the shares.

Lemieux and Burkle, according to people with knowledge of their interest, believe the Pirates could substantially hike attendance - recently among the lowest in the majors - with a more aggressive approach to player acquisition.

The Pirates' current method is to build through the farm system and add modestly priced veteran players, such as recently signed relievers Brendan Donnelly and Octavio Dotel, infielder Bobby Crosby and outfielder Ryan Church.

Owning two of the Pittsburgh's three major pro sports teams might have allowed Lemieux and Burkle to launch their own TV sports channel. Because they would own the teams, Lemieux and Burkle could have kept all advertising revenues without paying expensive rights fees, once the teams' current rights deals with FSN Pittsburgh expired.

Penguins vice president Tom McMillan declined Saturday to confirm Lemieux's interest in the Pirates, saying, "The Penguins don't discuss private business matters." The Pirates have responded to all questions about ownership by saying the team isn't for sale.