Rooney family

The Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, PA since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988, ownership of the team was then transferred to Art's oldest son, Dan Rooney. In the recent years more of the front office operations have been passed down by Dan Rooney to his son and team president, Art Rooney II.

The more influential family members included:

* Art Rooney, Team Founder
* Dan Rooney, Art's oldest son, Current Team Owner
* Art Rooney II, Dan's son, Current Team President

The Rooneys have been credited for much of the team's success. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051010/news_1s10steelers.html Steelers' success all in the family] ] The fundamental approach the Rooney's approach to managing the Steelers has been through patience and consistency, both of which the ownership is continuously given notoriety for. In proof of the teams stability there have been only three head coaches employed since 1969, by far the least amount out of any other team in that time frame. Dan Rooney has made it a requirement for any team interviewing for a new head coach to interview a minority candidate, known as the "Rooney Rule".

Restructuring

In July 2008 the Rooney family went public with the plan to reorganize the ownership structure of the franchise. Each of the five Rooney brothers owns 16% of the team, combining for 80%, while another related family, the McGinely's, own 20%. Dan Rooney, chairman, stated that his four brothers are moving towards other non football related business ventures and he is in talks with them to buy out their shares. However, the other four brothers believe Dan undervalued their shares, and hired Goldman Sachs to give them an estimate on the team. The estimate by Goldman Sachs valued the team between $800 million and $1.2 billion. One potential buyer has been identified, Stanley Drunkenmiller, the Pittsburgh billionaire who is the chairman of Duquesne Capital Management and a former money manager for George Soros. Talks to restructure the ownership have been going on for two years to comply with NFL ownership policies and ensure ownership and operation under the Rooney Family. The four brother's ventures with family race tracks that allow slot machines violate NFL rules of ownership with revenue from gambling enterprises. The ownership structure also violated the NFL rule stating that at least one individual must own 30% of the team to be principle owner, and no individual owns at least 30% of the team. The team does not expect the negotiations to have any effect on the players or fans.

References