Baseball: Nationals worth 450 million?

[Tjazz]

So how did the value of the Nationals increase in 4 years from $120 to $450 million?

Nationals $450 Million Sale Appears Set

By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer

2 hours ago

NEW YORK - With baseball owners set to approve the $450 million sale of the Washington Nationals on Thursday, they started turning their attention to the next hot topic: collective bargaining.

The Nationals' sale to Theodore Lerner and Stan Kasten won unanimous endorsements Wednesday from the sport's ownership committee and executive council, and all owners are to vote on it Thursday. Approval is a foregone conclusion, and Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said he expects the Nationals will be transferred between June 15 and the All-Star game on July 11.

"They have been immersed in stadium discussions and planning," he said of the incoming owners.

Baseball's other 29 teams purchased the Montreal Expos for $120 million in 2002 from Jeffrey Loria, who bought the Florida Marlins from John Henry, the head of a group that took over the Boston Red Sox. The Expos, plagued by poor attendance, moved to Washington for the 2005 season and were renamed.

Full article

[Stefan Wood]

So how did the value of the Nationals increase in 4 years from $120 to $450 million?

Full article

It went up due to the greed of Major League Baseball.

[J Larsen]

Four years ago they were lucky to get 5000 fans at a home game.