商人Mark Walter同意以125亿美元的估值将洛杉矶湖人队出售给风险投资家Josh Kushner和前迪士尼CEO Bob Iger[1]。这一价格相比Walter去年夏天达成的收购协议估值上涨25%，当时的估值为100亿美元[1]。
这笔交易背后反映出美国体育产业系统性的财富集中问题。据布鲁克斯研究所统计，自2000年以来，联邦政府对体育场馆的补贴超过40亿美元[1]。以洋基体育场为例，2009年的建设成本约25亿美元，其中约17亿美元通过免税市政债券融资，联邦补贴超过4亿美元[1]。此外，体育特许权所有者可以在十多年内对收购价格进行摊销，这通常允许他们每年抵扣数亿美元的应税收入[1]。这些税收优惠和政府补贴共同人为抬高了球队的价值。
联邦调查人员已经没收了Walter的手机和电脑，调查涉及欺诈的指控[1]。
Businessman Mark Walter has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger at a valuation of $12.5 billion, representing a 25% increase from the $10 billion valuation at which Walter acquired the team in the summer of 2024 [1]. The transaction underscores broader systemic concerns about wealth concentration and government support within American professional sports ownership structures.
Federal investigators have seized Walter's phone and computer as part of an investigation involving fraud allegations [1]. The deal exemplifies how league control over franchises, government subsidies, and tax incentives artificially inflate team valuations. According to the Brookings Institution, federal government subsidies for sports facilities have exceeded $4 billion since 2000 [1]. Yankees Stadium, constructed in 2009 at a cost of approximately $2.5 billion, was financed largely through tax-exempt municipal bonds worth roughly $1.7 billion, with federal subsidies exceeding $400 million [1]. Additionally, sports franchise owners can depreciate acquisition prices over more than a decade, typically deducting hundreds of millions of dollars annually from taxable income [1].