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Mile high investment Report: Elway joins bid to buy Nuggets, Avs, Pepsi Center
Posted: Tuesday July 20, 1999 09:32 AM
DENVER (AP) -- John Elway has teamed up with a pair of businessmen in a bid to buy the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and their future arena, The Denver Post reported Tuesday. The former Denver Broncos quarterback has joined an effort already launched by businessmen Lars Erik Borgen and George Gillette to buy the basketball and hockey teams and the Pepsi Center from Ascent Entertainment Group Inc., the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed source. Two other bidders have also reportedly submitted formal bids to Ascent's board of directors. The Post said one of them is Denver businessman Donald Sturm and the other an out-of-state party that was not named. Borgen is a Denver mutual fund entrepreneur. Gillett owns Vail-based Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc. and is a former owner of the Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts. Sturm is a millionaire real estate investor and owns the Bank of Cherry Creek. Ascent, a publicly held corporation based in Denver, agreed in March to sell the Nuggets, the Avalanche and the Pepsi Center to Bill Laurie and Wal-Mart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie for $400 million. However, that deal was sidelined after Ascent shareholders filed lawsuits asserting that the price was below market value and that former chairman Charlie Lyons sacrificed the interests of shareholders in negotiating a sweetheart deal for himself. The parties to the lawsuits, including the Lauries, agreed to set aside the sale and establish an "auction" process for the assets. Bids exceeding $400 million will be accepted up to July 26, and two days later the highest bidders will compete against the Lauries in a two-party auction. Borgen and Gillett have sued the Lauries, claiming that they had an agreement to buy the Avalanche from the couple once their deal with Ascent was done and that the Lauries reneged on a promise to sell them the team for $80 million. The suit is pending in Denver District Court. Elway's participation with Borgen and Gillett appeared to make the pair legitimate bidders for all three of the sports assets at stake, not just the Avalanche. Elway, who retired after leading the Broncos to their second straight Super Bowl victory last season, has also been linked with the bids for the next NFL expansion team in Los Angeles, but he recently said there had been little progress on that front since preliminary talks this spring.
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