McCourt Talks Marathon, Dodgers at Leadership Forum

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the city government need to work together to provide public transportation to and from Dodger stadium, team owner and Chairman Frank McCourt said. A free bus service between the stadium and Union Station is a start but more needs to be done to come up with other solutions, McCourt said following a speech at the VICA Leadership Forum on March 23. “There are a lot of very bright, capable people who need to engage in a dialogue until we’ve found the right solution,” McCourt said. “Public transportation is critical to making a city world class. I think it should have a robust public transportation system.” The city paid for a free trolley service to and from games during the second half of the 2008 season but lack of funding prevented a repeat in 2009. A $300,000 grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District pays for the service this season. Even with the team making the playoffs the past two years, McCourt’s profile has been heightened due to a contentious divorce from wife Jamie. The split, McCourt told the audience of about 80 people, would not impact the Dodger franchise because of marital agreements that would be settled in court. The team will eventually be passed to his sons, McCourt added. In addition to the baseball team, McCourt also has operating rights to the Los Angeles Marathon. His goals for the event were to make it a world-class event, a great experience for the runners and have model charitable activities. He also discussed expansion of the Marathon to West Hollywood and Santa Monica to try to include unincorporated parts of Los Angeles.