As the Wilpon family looks set to get out of ownership, there are assets other than the New York Mets organization itself that could be available for purchase.
One of those is SNY, the cable home of the Mets that is partially owned by the Wilpons. According to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, Knicks owner James Dolan could be interested in purchasing SNY to merge it with MSG Network, forming a network that owns both basketball and baseball games.
There is some belief that Dolan could even look at forming part of an ownership group to buy the Mets, but this is seen as less likely.
“Jim Dolan buying the Mets sounds crazy at first,” one banker with knowledge of both Dolan and the Mets sale told the Post. “But he has always wanted to merge [the MSG Network] with another local sports channel. He needs baseball, and that might require taking a shot at the Mets.”
Owning SNY would allow for a year-round revenue stream with live sports. Major League Baseball, however, is unlikely to be pleased with the prospect of any Dolan ownership.
Mets ownership speculation opened up in a major way after things fell through with prospective buyer Steve Cohen. It has led to some pretty wild chatter, and Dolan is unlikely to be the last big name we hear linked to this.
