Tom Hicks Broke: Dallas Stars are Next

Surprise, Surprise Tom Hicks has less money than he led on… again! Now it looks like ol’ Tom needs to either sell the Dallas Stars or at least find some investors. The comments coming out of the Hicks camp sound very similar to those made before the sale of the Rangers.

Anyway the city of Dallas is one step closer to the possibility of having its major sports teams not owned by someone whose talent seems to be losing money and running teams into the ground.

Tom Hicks was not all bad though, he did help build rinks in the Dallas area that have allowed hockey to grow in the Dallas Metroplex. However it is clear that some bad investment decisions are handcuffing his already limited ability as a professional sports team owner.

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An Open Letter to Bud Selig Regarding Tom Hicks

Dear Bud,

You are probably not extremely familiar with the inner workings of the Texas Rangers and the ownership situation that has yet to be sorted out. Then again, maybe you are. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there.

What is here and there and everywhere for me and the other rabid Texas Rangers fans (however many of us there are), at least, is the ongoing sale of the team. Tonight (January 15, 2010) was the deadline for the ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan to have an agreement done to take control of the team. However, that deadline has come and gone. All sources around the team are reporting that the team is still under the control of Tom Hicks.

I am begging you Mr. Selig. Please do not let Tom Hicks maintain control of this team. I have no wish to stand in the way of Tom Hicks’ personal ambitions in any other matters. But on this issue I will not budge. If you truly care about the competitiveness of Major League Baseball and its fans, you will not allow Tom Hicks to remain as owner of the Texas Rangers.

Ten years ago, I don’t believe the fans of the Texas Rangers would have ever considered this a possibility. Our beloved Rangers had just finished capturing their third division title in four years. You remember that, don’t you? How Juan Gonzalez and Will Clark and Roger Pavlik and Ken Hill helped lead a team to the playoffs that had no distinguishable history for 35 years as a franchise? How Pudge Rodriguez became a legendary figure in Texas and will always be cheered?

Tom Hicks injected money into our franchise. Unfortunately he spent that on all the wrong people. Now he is so deep in debt that our team, in the #6 media market in the country, has a payroll hovering around 23rd. To me, that is simply unacceptable. I don’t believe the Rangers will ever have a payroll approaching that of the highest 5, but I think that a $90 million payroll is a reasonable request in this market.

Dallas is a winners town. Always has been. Always will be. Yes the Cowboys are the biggest draw, but a consistently fine product on the field that competes for playoff spots more often than not will be successful in Arlington, Texas. Tom Hicks understands this. He understands that the Texas Rangers are on the precipice of having the best team in franchise history.

Keep in mind, Mr. Selig, that this franchise is about to embark upon its 50th season in the American League. And never has this franchise won a playoff series. Only once has it even won a playoff game.

Tom Hicks knows he is sitting on a cash cow. This is a young, exciting team that will become a contender if it is nurtured properly with an appropriate amount of financial flexibility in order to make transactions that will lead them to the franchise’s first ever playoff series victory and hopefully World Series championship.

But none of that can happen with Hicks in control. If this ownership situation drags through the season, he has a chance to do irreparable damage to the franchise. Irreparable.

I’m sorry to bring up painful memories for you, but does that description sound vaguely familiar to you? The Montreal Expos were the same way back in 2003. You said it was a “conflict of interest” to call up players for the team at the September 1 roster expansion date, despite the team being tied for the Wild Card lead on August 29. No owner could be found, and the team would leave after 2004.

What if Tom Hicks doesn’t sell this team? Will you and MLB take it over? Believe me, I’m not questioning the system. I’m questioning the man that makes the system necessary. It makes me nervous that Hicks wants to keep this team. Honestly. I’m nervous that the longer Hicks holds on to the team, the possibility rises that the Texas Rangers will not be in Texas much longer.

Please help me calm my nerves. I can’t speak for the other Rangers fans out there as to whether they have the same nerves, but I’m sure they join in my refrain:

Don’t Let Tom Hicks Own The Rangers Anymore.

Please.

Sincerely,

Cody Dunlap

Texas Rangers to be purchased by Exxon Mobil?

This is just a rumor, and I was unable to find out whether there is any validity to this. The same comment was left on a post over at the Rangers Blog on Dallas News. Although if this were true, I would certainly be happy, The Rangers would still be run by Nolan Ryan and Tom Hicks would be replaced by Exxon Mobil.

However until anything substantial comes out in the most likely scenario is Tom Hicks holding on to a stake in the team and rounding up some investors to purchase portions of the team. This will help Tom Hicks out, but is not the best solution for the baseball club, because Tom Hicks will still act as the majority owner with silent partners.

If Exxon Mobil or another company or person were to purchase the Texas Rangers, the team could move on from one of the worst owners in baseball. When Hicks first purchased the club he signed A-Rod and threw money at this thing without a plan, and finally with Nolan Ryan in the drivers seat the mess has been cleaned up. So Tom please sell the team.

Here is the comment from one of our old posts about Tom Hicks money problems:

ATTENTION ALL RANGERS FANS!!!

Your White Knight has arrived, ExxonMobil Oil Company of Irving Texas, to buy out Tom Hicks and take control of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club with a $**700,000,000** purchase.

Nolan Ryan would join the Board of Directors of ExxonMobil, would receive 5% ownership of the Rangers, and, most importantly, would be the ‘Control’ owner of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club.

ExxonMobil would hold 95% ownership and act as a silent partner and investment banker for the Rangers.

Bud Selig would bless this transaction by awarding the rights to host the 2012 MLB All-Star Game to the Texas Rangers.

And they lived happily ever after….Except for one thing.

This deal WILL NOT HAPPEN if you sit on your hands and remain silent.

All YOU have to do to make the dream a reality is to phone, fax, write, e-mail, and demonstrate [in front of ExxonMobil corporate HQ in Irving Texas if need be] to ExxonMobil and tell them to underwrite this deal.

WE NEED TO HEAR YOU NOW RANGERS FANS!!!!

MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD…CONTACT EXXONMOBIL TODAY!!!!

The impact of Tom Hicks’ financial struggles

First the details: As first reported yesterday by rangerfans.com, “Inside Pitch,” a daily show which airs on SIRIUS XM Radio at 2 p.m., fielded a caller which said that the Rangers were forced to borrow $15 million in order to make payroll for the most recent pay period. Evan Grant of InsideCorner quickly jumped on the story, along with Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball.

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