Vince Naimoli wrote a book about his life and his time owning the Devil Rays. He tries to throw a better light on himself.
Naimoli also has some harsh words for his former investment partners, saying he had to spend $30 million of his own money to keep the team from bankruptcy. That was because his partners (that included Outback co-founders Chris Sullivan and Bob Basham, and Sarasota businessman Bill Griffin) “reneged on their promise” to cover the payroll increase for the ill-fated 2000 “Hit Show” addition of high-priced sluggers Vinny Castilla and Greg Vaughn. Worse, Naimoli wrote, he knew it was a bad idea at the time, saying he had a “premonition of disaster” and felt “scalded” by how it turned out.
“So I anted up the money, about $30 million, to save the team,” he wrote. “I didn’t go public with that tidbit (it was a private matter). If I had, it might have changed some perceptions about me. But if I hadn’t put in the money, the team would have gone bankrupt.”
The team is better now, and so far the new group has increased attendance, which should give them some room to grow payroll eventually. They ranked 29th in 2007 at 17,100, 26th in 2008 at 22,300, and 23rd in 2009 at 23,100. They didn’t get the big boost winning a pennant usually brings, likely due to the down turn in the economy, and the team not being as competitive as the year before. They still have a good core, however, so if they can bounce back in 2010, they should keep those numbers going up. As Naimoli still has equity in the team, he should reap the rewards of the better management.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:34 am | Books, Owners | Permalink | No Comments
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