Jim Crane a St.Louis native bought the Astros? Here's more to the story
The sale is subject to approval by Major League Baseball, expected in 30 to 60 days. McLane, who bought the team in November 1992 for about $117 million, put the franchise up for sale in November."Drayton, you have been a great owner of the Astros and created a first-class operation. I'm honored and proud to take over the franchise from you," Crane said. " I love baseball and we look forward to doing a great job."Crane said former Houston Rockets president George Postolos will serve as CEO when the deal goes through."I have a couple of messages for the Astros fans. First and foremost, the Astros fans come first. You are the customer. Our team will work hard to deliver a superior product and a great experience for the fans.
I believe in running a first-class franchise and everything we do will be built around building a championship team," Crane said. A major selling point was the team's share in a new deal with the NBA's Houston Rockets to create a regional sports network that will begin airing Rockets games in 2012 and the Astros in 2013. Any deal was also expected to address the team's lease at Minute Maid Park, which is owned by the Harris County Houston Sports Authority. Crane, who founded a Houston-based logistics company in 2008, is the chairman and chief executive of Crane Capital, a private equity fund company. In 2009, he was in the running to buy the Chicago Cubs and last summer teamed with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in a bid to buy the Texas Rangers. Both times, he fell short. Crane also approached McLane about buying the Astros in 2008, but was turned down. McLane, a longtime fixture at Astros home games, has raved about Crane and thinks the team will be in good hands once the deal is completed."This has been one of the highlights of our lives. We've enjoyed it. But one of the responsibilities of leadership is to hand off better than you found out. Hand off to somebody that's going to be accountable, has the ability and the determination to continue to be a champion and be successful," McLane said."(Craine's) an experienced, very knowledgeable business person," McLane said. "He has a passion for baseball. He lives here and will continue to live here. He understands the community." McLane, who made his fortune running the family's wholesale grocery business, has been considering selling the team for at least two years. He said in November that the decision to fully commit to selling the team was based mostly on family considerations. The franchise, playing its 50th season, has reached unprecedented success with McLane as the owner, making the playoffs six times since 1997.
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