In a recent appearance on Forbes SportsMoney on the YES Network, Sal Galatioto, the President of Galatioto Sports Partners LLC opined the Mets will probably not require bankruptcy protection in the short term, saying:
“The [investments] are going to help. … They will raise more money in equity and they’re going to have to do something about restructuring their [upcoming] debt [that's due over the next few years], That’s why they’ve done some of the things they’ve done strategically. There were reports about the team being near bankruptcy – I think those reports are greatly exaggerated – I don’t think the team is in that serious of a financial condition. I think they’ll be able to get through this. … The fans are not the happiest people of the face of the earth right now, but let’s be honest – when you have a media deal, like a cable rights deal, you’re going to get paid, whatever your rights fee is whether the product is good or the product isn’t good. You have to turn this ship around. Turning a team like this around is an oil tanker, not a speed boat, so they have to raise equity, restructure the debt and do a bunch of other things if [the Wilpons] are going to hold onto the team.”
Galatioto Sports Partners LLC is a firm specializing in the advice, lending and raising of capital to sports franchises in the United States.
For more from Galatioto, including his thoughts on the Dodgers and Super Bowl ad revenue, check out this post for Forbes Magazine.
