TAMPA, Fla. -- The Yankees are not and may never be for sale, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner told ESPN in an interview published on Thursday.
Steinbrenner said that his family views owning the franchise as a way of keeping George M. Steinbrenner's legacy alive and intends to continue overseeing the franchise for generations to come.
"This is a family business and we're all involved," Steinbrenner said. "We all love being a part of this. We all know our dad wanted us to be a part of us, and we all know he's watching down on us and happy that we're all a part of it. Believe it or not, to us, that's a big deal. The idea is, let's keep it going."
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George M. Steinbrenner headed a group that purchased the Yankees in 1973 from CBS for $10 million. His children, Hal, Hank, Jennifer and Jessica, all hold prominent titles in the Yankees' hierarchy, and Hal Steinbrenner told ESPN that his family's next generation has expressed interest in handling the team's future affairs.
According to ESPN, that group includes Stephen Swindal Jr. (son of Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal), George Michael Steinbrenner and Julia Steinbrenner Vinas (son and daughter of Hank Steinbrenner), Robert Molloy (son of Jessica Steinbrenner Molloy) and Hal's daughter Katherine.
"It's already been discussed," Hal Steinbrenner said. "We got a lot of grandkids, and they're very interested. The idea is, it's time to let the young elephants in the tent, in George's words. So it's begun."
Forbes Magazine recently valued the Yankees at $3.2 billion, but Steinbrenner said that money is not a deciding factor in the family's desire to retain control of the team.
"It's our way of keeping our dad's legacy alive," Steinbrenner said. "People that know us know we didn't have the biggest house on the street. My dad loved Oldsmobiles. We had a Buick station wagon.
"We don't have yachts. We don't have huge estates. We don't have the lifestyle that would even necessitate us to even think about doing something like that. What the hell for?"