Magic Johnson group gets the Dodgers

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Magic Johnson is about to learn $2 billion only buys you so much. Now he’ll need to bring the Los Angeles Dodgers the same success he brought the Lakers.

News that Johnson and his partners agreed to purchase the team sparked a groundswell of excited chatter and optimism Wednesday that the man who ran “Showtime” could restore luster to the once-proud franchise.

The amount Johnson and his partners are paying would be mind-blowing if it was just for the team itself. But it also gives Johnson’s group the right to reel in future riches from TV and real estate associated with the Dodgers.

“A big part of the purchase price is all those other things,” said David Carter, executive director of USC Sports Business Institute. “You’ve got a great piece of property you can develop and make a game-day experience around Chavez Ravine. A likely billion-dollar cable [television] rights deal that will come out of it makes it a very unique sale.”

Current owner Frank McCourt handpicked Johnson’s group to buy the Dodgers just five hours after Major League Baseball approved three finalists in a bankruptcy auction.

Johnson is a perfect fit. He lives locally, he already knows what it takes to win championships, and he’s proven he can succeed in real estate, retail and entertainment — keys to helping the team pursue big-money free agents.

“Great day for the Dodgers,” slugger Matt Kemp said from spring training in Glendale, Ariz. “As Magic used to say, the Dodgers were the team that used to run L.A. Definitely we were going to have more fans out there this year.”

Hours after the announcement that Johnson’s group was the winning bidder, the Dodgers said their April 10 home opener was sold out.