Team president reaffirms stance: 'Dodgers are not being sold'

LOS ANGELES -- With questions swirling around Dodgers controlling owner and chairman Mark Walter due to federal investigations surrounding his company, TWG Global, team president Stan Kasten said Friday that he does not believe the situation will impact the Dodgers.

Kasten reiterated the comments he made on Aug. 12, when Walter stunned the sports world by selling the Los Angeles Lakers less than one year after his purchase of the team was approved by the NBA. Earlier this week, reports held that Walter is in talks to sell his stakes in Chelsea F.C. Kasten does not believe that Walter will sell the Dodgers in the foreseeable future.

"The Dodgers are not being sold," Kasten said Friday. "They're not gonna be sold. They're not for sale. There's no process that has been started to sell it, period. We are planning only to win."

Walter has been the Dodgers' controlling owner since Guggenheim Baseball Management purchased the team in 2012. He is the chairman and CEO of TWG Global, a diversified holding company that has been the subject of federal investigations for potential loan fraud.

Kasten said that Walter expects to keep the Dodgers as well as other sports interests including the Professional Women's Hockey League and his various motorsports holdings.

"One thing -- we're all certain about this -- the sports portfolio is going to remain intact," Kasten said. "It's important to Mark. I can't tell you how important the Dodgers are to Mark. The Lakers thing? The Lakers were important to him, too, but it's kind of an extraordinary opportunity, which he took."

Regarding whether any of the financial activity under investigation may be connected to the operation of the Dodgers, Kasten said the team has the funds to support itself.

The Dodgers have enjoyed great success under Guggenheim's ownership, winning 12 of the past 13 NL West titles and three World Series championships in the previous six seasons. In recent years, the organization has made large expenditures in free agency. Kasten said he does not expect the team's resources to be impacted by the situation at hand, and that the organization is not planning to deviate from the way it currently operates.

"I can tell you from the guy running the team, knowing how the business runs and what it can support in terms of revenues and expenses," Kasten said. "The Dodgers aren't going anywhere."