By Nick Brown
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached an agreement to accept as much as $150 million in loans from Major League Baseball to keep the team afloat as it works its way through bankruptcy.
The deal, announced in court papers Friday, resolves the team's concern that an MLB loan would contain language allowing the league to take control of team. The agreement is "satisfactory," both "in its economics and its terms," a team spokeswoman said.
The parties submitted their proposed agreement to Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
The proposal was the result of negotiations ordered by Gross after the Dodgers initially tried to accept a loan from a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co instead of the league.
Gross said it was "unclear" how the Dodgers expected to operate "within the framework of baseball" if they were unwilling to cooperate with MLB, adding that the league's deal would save the team $14 million.
Attorneys for the Dodgers said their hesitation was rooted in covenants included in the deal that could allow MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to seize the team. The Dodgers agreed to negotiate with the league after the league promised to remove the contentious language.
A lawyer for MLB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The money will likely be used to keep the team operating and give it time to try to sell cable TV rights, which should put it on a sound financial footing.
It initially tried to complete a $3 billion sale for TV rights, but MLB Commissioner Bud Selig rejected the deal in June. The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy days later.
The case is In re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.
(Reporting by Nick Brown; Additional reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
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