The Los Angeles Dodgers, one of Major League Baseball’s most storied franchises, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday June 27, 2011. The Dodgers are a Delaware limited liability company, which is the reason the case was filed in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The club’s list of 40 largest unsecured claims reads like a major league roster, as it includes debts owed to players such as Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal, Ted Lilly, Juan Uribe, Juan Pierre, Jon Garland and others. The list of largest unsecured claims also includes a $3.5 million owed to the Chicago White Sox.
Pleadings filed in connection with the bankruptcy filing reveal that in the 2009 season, the Dodgers drew 3.8 million fans, the highest in Major League Baseball that year. Also during that year, the club shared about 12.5% of its revenue with other baseball clubs, pursuant to MLB’s revenue sharing structure. They also reveal that there has been a significant decline in attendance thus far this year.
Numerous first-day motions were filed and subsequently granted on June 28, 2011, including a motion to authorize the club to honor its commitments under its “Dodger Dollars” program, which allows fan to buy certificates in $5 and $10
increments that can be used at Dodger Stadium to purchase merchandise, concessions, parking and tickets.
At this point, the case is very young and schedules have not yet even been filed. However, it will be interesting to see how the case proceeds in the wake of other teams, such as the Texas Rangers, that have filed chapter 11 recently.