American John Moores has been linked for a long time with a bid for a 30% stake in Swansea City, but if you ask fans of his former baseball team - the San Diego Padres - we should steer clear...
San Diego. The finest city in the world, as proclaimed by none other than the legend that is Ron Burgundy. It's famous for it's sandy beaches much like our beloved Gower peninsula, but the link with Swansea could be strengthened with former San Diego Padres owner John Moores looking to purchase a substantial 30% holding in Swansea City.
I've made my feelings on this clear (link), and they tally with those of the Supporters Trust, but the reason for this post is that yesterday an article was brought to my attention by @AndrewClarkwest detailing the tenure of Moores at the Padres, and his overall effect on the team.
Here's a link to the article: click here. It's really, really worth a read and while it's too long to reproduce in it's entirety the author was kind enough to do a (albeit bitter) synoposis:
"John Moores bought the Padres dirt cheap in 1994 after the baseball strike. He pumped money into the team and reached the World Series weeks before a ballot granted him a new stadium and shit-tons of taxpayer money. He skimmed money off the team while they remained terrible for about a decade. He had to sell the team in a divorce. He agreed to sell the team in payments. The payment deal didn't work out. He found $200 million sitting in his baseball team's account. He put that money in his pocket. He tried selling the team again and succeeded. He disappeared."
The ballot mentioned came as a result of a brief improvement in stature, where as a result a groundswell of support saw San Diego voters turn out to vote to build a new stadium (they had previously been sharing a dual-use venue), where $400million of the $500million cost would be footed by the taxpayer. John Moores retained ownership of the new stadium (how does that work?!), along with partial ownership in an adjacent hotel and other properties, but once they were in the new stadium he oversaw a decrease in the wage of the playing staff to the point where, prior to the failed takeover bid, they had the smallest playing wage in baseball.
Another Twitter user (@sorensen_andy) got in touch with our podcast @TheJackCast ahead of recording with a link showing a few Padres fans' giving their views on John Moores now that he's been gone a few years: link.
It does sound pretty suspect you have to say. While he wouldn't be able to wring too many changes at the Liberty with the present board retaining 70% of the shares, it does make you wonder about his motives. The Swans are primed to expand the stadium and, if there was to be money invested, could well look to push up the table sooner rather than later.
This would draw a pretty neat parallel with the Padres when he bought them. Spend a bit of money, your project increases in value massively because you timed your arrival well, and sell out. If he was somehow only ever restricted to owning a 30% stake then I could, obviously, live with that as there doesn't seem to be a downside, but I can't help but feel that if you're a heavyweight in a field of middleweights - as Moores would be financially on the Swansea board - then it would only be natural to, over time, look to increase your holding in the company.
Perhaps this is my wariness of the investment shining through, but I think it's interesting information - especially with the Trust meeting on Friday at the Liberty regarding just this. If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask of the trust, or points they'd like to make, it's surely worth attending and I hope to see lots of people there.