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Report: Art Rooney Jr. says there's 'a chance the Rooneys won't own the Steelers'
By PFW staff
July 9, 2008
Steelers vice president Art Rooney Jr. indicated to Pittsburgh TV station WPXI-TV on Wednesday that as he and brothers John, Patrick and Timothy Rooney weigh what to do with their shares of the team, there is a possibility of an outside party taking a controlling interest in the club.
"There's a chance the Rooneys won't own the Steelers," Art Rooney Jr. told the station.
The Steelers are restructuring their ownership as they try to come into compliance on NFL rules. League owners are forbidden to own and operate gaming companies, and the Rooney family owns gaming interests in New York and Florida. With several of the Rooney brothers likely to remain active in those businesses, and with the NFL requiring a principal owner to control at least 30 percent of a team, a sale of some of the family's ownership stakes is likely. At present, it is believed no one person owns more than 16 percent of the Steelers.
Art Rooney Jr. told WPXI-TV that the ownership change is not causing undue friction among the Rooney family.
"Everything's fine," Rooney Jr., one of five sons of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr., said. "You can't have all these people working (for the Steelers.) The third generation of Rooneys bleeds black and gold big-time. They would love to be involved in a real active way with the Steelers. It's just not in the cards."
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