Why should the parade of folks claiming they’d like to buy the Mets — even if only a piece of the team is currently for sale — be limited to the extremely wealthy? Shouldn’t the common fan — or, at least, the common fan with a grand or so of disposable income — be able to join in on the madness? Perhaps now they’ll be able to. BuyTheMets.com, a website launched yesterday by three friends and investment-bank partners, is seeking other fans to join in on a bid to purchase the team and a controlling stake in SNY. Shares will cost $999, though for now they’re only allowing fans to sign up to receive further information.
Among the many hurdles the campaign would face, according to a Times article on the grassroots effort: a Major League Baseball rule that stipulates the lead investor “must own at least 10 percent of the team and control 90 percent of the voting shares.” And even Bill Heyn, one of the three men behind the site, says he knows the plan is “a long shot.” Still, he thinks the fan campaign would have an edge over some billionaire in terms of public support. “We have a serious plan that should be taken very seriously,” said Heyn, presumably before adding, “Seriously, make sure the word ‘serious’ appears in one of my quotes, so as to indicate our level of seriousness.”