According to a report [1] from Charlie Gasparino of the Fox Business Network, Red Sox ownership have begun "quietly shopping" the franchise to potential buyers and are mulling the sale of the team.
Owning both Liverpool FC and the Red Sox has been the biggest challenge for John Henry and Fenway Sports Group and is the key reason they could be looking to sell, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Gasparino. By selling the Red Sox, Henry could potentially devote more resources to Liverpool, which was purchased by Fenway Sports for $476 million in 2010. Gasparino reports that people close to ownership feel that more attention is being paid to the future of the Liverpool franchise than to the last-place Red Sox.
The Red Sox denied any interest in selling the team. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Sox said of “there is no truth to that rumor" of a potential sale. And Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino was asked about the rumors -- prior to this report surfacing -- on the Dennis & Callahan Show on Thursday morning.
"Nonsense," Lucchino said of a potential sale. "As I said, they feel the same kind of competitive juices that the fans feel, that I feel. There's an opportunity here to put the team back on the track it was on for a decade. … There has not been one word, one word of discussion regarding that. We are committed, better or worse, we are the guys to kick around."
For more Red Sox news visit weei.com/redsox [2].
Links:
[1] http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/09/13/boston-red-sox-could-be-on-block/
[2] http://weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox