Passan: MLB Owners Approve Steve Cohen as Mets Owner; No Objections from NYC

The New York Mets have a new owner, Steve Cohen, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

MLB owners have voted to approve Steve Cohen as the new owner of the New York Mets, a source familiar with the vote tells ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 30, 2020

Cohen needed 23 of the 30 MLB owners to support his purchase. On top of Major League Baseball, and the owner’s, approval the Mets needed approval from New York City. They got that too.

And this seals it.

A historic day for the New York Mets. On the eve of free agency beginning, they now have the richest owner in baseball — by a significant margin — and Steve Cohen is intent on building the East Coast version of the Los Angeles Dodgers, an total juggernaut. https://t.co/jObjuob4Yn

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 30, 2020

Previously, NYC mayor Bill de Blasio said the city law department is legally obligated to review the Mets sale because the team’s park is on city land.

Also ESPN notes, “a provision in the city’s lease agreement says any new owner of the team cannot be someone who has been convicted of a felony or is an organized crime figure.”

With de Blasio’s approval, MLB can officially move forward with Cohen’s acquisition of the franchise.

The sale values the Mets between $2.4 and $2.5 billion. Cohen previously joined the Mets after the collapse of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The team was seeking $20 million in minority stakes at the time.

Cohen will now own 95% of the Mets, while the former majority owners — Fred Wilpon, his brother-in-law Saul Katz and Wilpon’s son Jeff — will keep the remaining five percent.

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