Nolan Ryan's Group Completes Purchase of Rangers

The Hall of Fame pitcher outbid a group headed by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:53 am

By: News On 6

Nolan Ryan's Group Completes Purchase of Rangers

Originally Published: Aug 5, 2010 9:9 AM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas – An investment group featuring Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan won an auction to purchase the Texas Rangers Thursday, beating a nearly $600 million bid by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Ryan’s group held the endorsement of Major League Baseball and won with a bid of $593 million that included $385 million in cash. The winning bid was announced just after 1 a.m., approximately 10 hours after the bidding began Wednesday.

The bids of both groups included more than $200 million to help alleviate the team’s debt, some of which is still contained in deferred compensation for Alex Rodriguez more than six years after he was traded to the New York Yankees.

Ryan’s group was originally named as the team’s buyer months ago, but creditors put the deal in question and the Rangers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. The auction took so long because breaks were taken to discuss the details of every bid.

Cuban also led a bidding group when the Chicago Cubs went on sale in 2008, but was not selected to be part of the final bidding process. Ryan pitched for the Rangers for the final five years of his career and took over as the team president in 2008.

There has been no official word, but rumors abound that Ryan wants to change the Rangers’ farm team from the Oklahoma City RedHawks to the Round Rock Express. Ryan’s two sons, Reese and Reid, are both part of the front office for the Express. Reid is the team’s founder and CEO, while Reese is the CFO and current co-owner. The Express is currently the farm team of the Houston Astros.