Can Todd Boehly mimic Dodger revamp at Chelsea?
IT WAS CONFIRMED on Monday (May 9) that billionaire US businessman Todd Boehly is the head of a consortium buying Chelsea in
a £4.25 billion (B180bn) deal.
The 46-year-old from Virginia was a key member of the
ownership group that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers 2012
for US$2bn (B69bn), a record
for a North American sports team acquisition at the time.
In the decade since the club have become perennial contenders, making the playoffs the past nine seasons.
They reached the World Series three times in four years, coming away empty in
2017 and 2018 before winning
the title in 2020.
The turnaround, along with the revitalisation of Dodger Stadium, was fueled by a multi-million-dollar media deal which saw the Dodgers eclipse the New York Yankees as the biggest-spending club in Major League Baseball.
Boehly is also a part owner of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and last year purchased a stake in the
NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
The opportunity to buy Chelsea, the reigning European champions, came after Russian owner Roman Abramovich put the club on the market in early March, just days before he was sanctioned
by the British government in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“What you are trying to build with these teams, you are really trying to win and be part of the community," Boehly told Bloomberg in 2019.
That being said, there is no doubt that the Premier League’s status and opportunity for global return on investment is a key driver of Boehly’s interest.