The deeper the Chattanooga Lookouts play into the 2011 season, the closer the storied minor league baseball franchise could be to being sold.
“There are several interested parties,” team owner Frank Burke said Thursday, “and I think something will get done between now and the beginning of next year for sure.”
Burke announced last December that he might have to sell the team because of “estate issues” and the declining health of his father, Daniel Burke, who turned 82 in February. He and his father bought the franchise in 1995 along with Charles Eshbach.
The purchase price was not made public, but several sales of similar franchises during that time were for $3.5 to $4 million. According to Southern League president Don Mincher, the average cost now of a Double-A franchise is $12-15 million.
Burke said a sale could not take place between now and the Sept. 5 season finale.