McCourt Agrees to Sell Dodgers, Team to Be Auctioned in Bankruptcy Court

LOS ANGELES – Embattled Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt agreed Tuesday to sell the ball club, with the team to be auctioned in bankruptcy court, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The sale is expected to include Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots. The package cost McCourt $421 million in 2004 and could sell for two to three times as much now, the report said.

Major League Baseball was hopeful a new Dodgers owner would be in place by Opening Day.

Earlier Tuesday it emerged that Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, had offered to buy the Dodgers several months ago but pulled out of negotiations because the $1 billion to $1.2 billion price bracket sought by McCourt was too high.

"At that price, I wasn't interested," Cuban said, adding he would still be interested in buying the team if he could get a better deal.

"At the right price, I'm interested," he said. "Not if the price is over $1 billion."

McCourt filed for bankruptcy in June as a last-ditch effort to keep MLB commissioner Bud Selig from seizing the cash-strapped franchise.

The trial, which had been set to kick off Monday, was delayed last week by one month to reportedly clear the way for a potential settlement.

McCourt had vowed since April that he would not sell the floundering franchise despite Selig's appointment of an outside representative to oversee the club's day-to-day finances.