The group that owns the Celtics announced
on Thursday that they have agreed to sell the team to a group led by William Chisholm, managing director and co-founder of California-based Symphony Technology Group, for $6.1 billion.
It is the largest sale for a North American sports franchise ever. The next largest was two years ago, when the NFL’s Washington Commanders were sold for $6.05 billion.
The statement from Boston Basketball Partners LLC said that, if the deal is approved, the new ownership group will buy a majority of the team this summer. The statement also said that Wyc Grousbeck will continue in his roles of team CEO and Governor through the next three seasons.
“Bill is a terrific person and a true Celtics fan, born and raised here in the Boston area,” Grousbeck said. “His love for the team and the city of Boston, along with his chemistry with the rest of the Celtics leadership, make him a natural choice to be the next Governor and controlling owner of the team. I know he appreciates the importance of the Celtics and burns with a passion to win on the court while being totally committed to the community. Quite simply, he wants to be a great owner.”
Chisholm, who grew up in Georgetown and went to Dartmouth, shared his excitement in the statement.
“Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life,” he said. “I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston – the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country. I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organization to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge.”
The Grousbeck family, the current majority owners of the team, announced last year that they were planning to sell the Celtics. Other interested buyers included Steve Pagliuca, a current co-owner with the ownership group that has owned the team since 2002.
In a statement
, Pagliuca said that he and his partners had made a “fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price.” He didn’t specify how much that offer was for.
“We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics,” the statement read. “It is a bid of true fans, deeply connected to Boston’s community, and we’ve been saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process.”
Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economist at Smith College, wasn’t surprised that the Celtics had fetched such a high price.
“Well the Celtics are an iconic, if not the iconic, franchise in the NBA. It goes back to Bill Russell and Bob Cousy and Red Auerbach,” he said. “And they’re in a great sports town and a great NBA town. So it makes sense to me that they would be setting a record. Particularly since they’re the last team sold. When the next team is sold maybe it won’t be a record anymore.”
Holy Cross sports economist Victor Matheson agrees there could be a ripple effect.
“A $6 billion price tag for the Celtics certainly makes every other NBA owner say, ‘Well, I should be able to get quite a bit more for my franchise going forward,’” Matheson said. “So, I think it certainly has upped the ante for every other potential NBA sale for the near future.”
