Selling the Pistons Will Be No Easy Task

The Detroit News is reporting that Karen Davidson would like to sell the Detroit Pistons by the beginning of the 2010-2011 seasons, but that it will not be easy. Several trends in business and sports markets currently suggest that it could take in excess of a year to find new owners for the Pistons at anything but a fire-sale price.

"With the value of the Detroit Pistons at about $470 million and operating profits at $20 million to $30 million annually, it's really good for a club. They're still healthy," said Jon Pritchett, the chief executive officer of Club 9 Sports, a consultancy in Chicago. "But it's not a competitive bidding environment for anyone with that kind of money. It's not happening, right now."

"Financing is very difficult, in general, but also in sports lending these days," said Marc Ganis, president of the sports business consulting firm, SportsCorp, in Chicago. "If a team has a reason it is negatively exposed, that issue is magnified."

To read more on the subject, please visit…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/detroitnws/detroitnws_ts3229