Frank McCourt Close to Agreement on Dodgers Sale: Report

The team's financial woes led to a bankruptcy filing in June and months of legal wrangling

Two years of legal disputes over one of baseball's most storied franchises might be nearing an end.

Dodgers: The Changeup

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt appears close to an agreement with Major League Baseball on a bankruptcy settlement that includes the sale of the team, according to a report in the LA Times. McCourt would have some control over the sale, the Times, citing sources with knowledge of negotiations, reported.

Dodgers officials have not commented on the report.

Hints of a settlement included a delay in a critical hearing scheduled for last month in the bankruptcy case. That hearing was delayed until late November, allowing McCourt's legal team more time to prepare.

The team, stadium and parking lots are probably part of the deal, which could fetch more than $1 billion, according to the report.

The McCourt-MLB standoff intensified in April when Commissioner Bud Selig, who has criticized McCourt's stewardship of the Dodgers, appointed a monitor to oversee the team's financial operations. The Dodgers' fall from grace continued in June when the team filed for bankruptcy.

The move was seen as McCourt's attempt to buy time and keep the franchise afloat. McCourt claimed MLB's rejection of a proposed TV deal with Fox led to the bankruptcy filing.

"I simply cannot allow the Commissioner to knowingly and intentionally  be in a position to expose the Dodgers to financial risk any longer,'' McCourt said in a statement after the filing. "It is my hope that the Chapter 11 process  will create a fair and constructive environment to get done what we couldn't  achieve with the Commissioner directly.''

McCourt has repeatedly said he did not plan to sell the team, which he purchased in 2004.

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