Glen Taylor, the longtime owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx, has agreed to sell both teams to former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and former Walmart chief executive Marc Lore for $1.5 billion.
The deal is awaiting league approval, but basketball fans in Minnesota are already buzzing about the implications of the sale. What will the new ownership group mean for these teams? Will they stay in Minnesota? Will Rodriguez and Lore ask for public dollars for a new arena? Why have valuations of NBA teams skyrocketed?
On Friday at 11 a.m., guest host Chris Farrell, senior economics contributor at Marketplace and MPR News, will ask a basketball reporter and a sports economist about the potential effects of the sale and the value of sports franchises to regional identity and the economy.
We want to hear from you. Are you a Timberwolves or Lynx fan? Are you excited or nervous about the new ownership? How would you feel if Minnesota spent public dollars on a new basketball arena? Why do you care about the Timberwolves and Lynx — or why don’t you care about them? Give us a call at 651-227-6000 to join the conversation.
Guests:
Jon Krawczynski is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA and the Minnesota Vikings. He joined The Athletic after 16 years at The Associated Press where he covered three Olympics, three NBA Finals, two Ryder Cups and the 2009 NFC championship game.
Andrew Zimbalist is the Robert A. Woods professor of economics at Smith College. He has consulted in Latin America for the United Nations Development Program, the U.S. Agency for International Development and numerous companies. He has also consulted in the sports industry for players’ associations, cities, companies, teams and leagues. Zimbalist has published 28 books, many on the economics of sports.
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