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Art Rooney, Jr: Family Ownership May End Soon

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Jul 30, 2008 8:35 pm US/Eastern

Art Rooney, Jr: Family Ownership May End Soon

Reporting
Andy Sheehan
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Art Rooney, Jr., one of the five brothers who have a majority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, says that family ownership of the team may soon come to an end.

In his most candid interview to date, he tells KDKA's Andy Sheehan this is probably the last year of family ownership.

Rooney says it's a sad time for him and his brothers but he doesn't see another way around it.

"I took my grandson up to training camp - his name is Art Rooney too .. the fourth ... and it was kind of sad because this will probably be the last training camp that the Rooney kids go to," Rooney said.

Rooney has joined with three of his brothers, Pat, Tim and John, in trying to get the best possible price for their shares in the team after rejecting an offer from Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney to buy them out.

Dan is still trying to retain majority stake to keep the team Rooney-owned, but according to Art Jr., that may be a fading dream.

Sheehan: "In your heart of hearts you believe that this era is coming to an end, that the Rooneys will no longer own the Steelers?"

Rooney, Jr.: "I think there's a good chance that's going to happen. Yeah, real good chance."

The Rooneys have interest in two racetracks and the NFL has ordered them to get out of the gaming business. To comply, Art says he has resigned from the racetrack boards and Tim and Pat have resigned from the Steeler board. But ownership of the team is another matter.

"So we're cooperating and moving toward resolving the gaming part of it but I don't think that there's any way that we can resolve the ownership deal where one guy has 30 percent of it," Rooney said. "I just don't think that's in cards."

Dan Rooney is going to try. As we've reported, he's speaking with a number of investors who might be willing to buy pieces of the team and let him be majority owner. Sources say he and his son, Art Rooney II, and their investment bankers are close to putting together a proposal, including an estimate of what the team is worth in anticipation of making a new buyout offer to the other Rooney brothers.

Sheehan: "If Dan and Art the second, your nephew, put together a good deal or a fair price, would you prefer that happen?"

Rooney, Jr.: "Well you always prefer the team staying in the family but it has to make sense ... to the rest of us. It's just a sad, sad, situation."

Rooney, Jr. stresses that this is a sad situation for the family but there are no villains. He says it's just a very hard thing to pass a family business down from generation to generation and that each of the brothers must do the best thing for their children and grandchildren.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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