Major League Baseball a Mile High by Society for American Baseball Research

Author:Society for American Baseball Research
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Society for American Baseball Research
Published: 2019-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Dick and Charlie Monfort

By Roger L. Kinney

Dick and Charlie Monfort brought a new breed of ownership to the Colorado Rockies with a long-term commitment for financial stability, a caring entrepreneurship, and a steadfast desire to build a winning franchise.

The two brothers became the primary owners of the Colorado Rockies in a most peculiar way. Shortly after Commissioner Peter Ueberroth announced plans for expansion of the National League in 1989, the Colorado Baseball Commission had two major problems: They lacked the initiation fee of $95 million, and they did not have an ownership group that would be acceptable to the MLB expansion committee.

At the request of the Colorado Baseball Commission, Dick Anderson, a Denver businessman, approached Governor Roy Romer to explain the unfortunate state of affairs. Romer agreed to form a finance committee that involved business leaders Dick Robinson, Tryg Myhren, and Jim Baldwin. The group contacted Jerry McMorris, who agreed to make an initial investment as a limited partner. McMorris offered to contact Ken Monfort, a legendary beef-industry pioneer in northern Colorado who was known for his business acumen and good humor, as well as his generosity for any worthy cause in his beloved state of Colorado.

After a lengthy presentation, Ken Monfort agreed that the long-term benefits of having a major-league baseball team in the state could be significant, but in his opinion the proposal was somewhat crazy — the ownership structure was out of balance with the general partners providing only about 22 percent of the capital investment and the limited partners providing about 78 percent. In addition, he questioned the accuracy of the estimated financial projections, in fact he agreed with some skeptics who thought the potential population for buying tickets for the games included many of the jackrabbits and antelopes in northern Colorado. Monfort’s response was that he personally was too old to consider such an investment. However, if any of his children were interested, then he and the family would support them. In addition, he told his sons that he did not like to invest in such a project as a limited partner. Based on his experience, he preferred to retain personal control of his investments.

It didn’t take long for Charlie Monfort to agree to support the project. He became a limited partner and one of the club’s original founders with his initial investment in 1991. His initial investment was intended, first to support their friends Jerry McMorris, Pete Coors, and the other investors, and second, to support the organized effort to provide a long-term financial benefit for the state of Colorado. Another important investment came from Peter Coors, representing Coors Brewery, who agreed to invest $25 million, of which $15 million would go for the naming rights for the ballpark.1 The ownership group eventually reached its goal and the franchise was awarded to the Colorado Rockies on July 5, 1991.2

Shortly thereafter, in July 1992, the franchise faced an unexpected crisis when Michael “Mickey” Monus, one of the out-of-state owners, was accused of embezzlement and faced with multiple lawsuits.

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