The New Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers is from Cedar Rapids

Seismic change happened for one of the most globally relevant sports franchises yesterday when ESPN broke the news that the Buss family would be selling the controlling stake of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jeanie Buss, whose family has had control of the Lakers since her father, Jerry, bought the team in 1979, has officially coughed up the franchise to a man with some local connections and a history of winning.

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Buss and the Lakers reached an agreement with TWG Global CEO and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter for $10 billion, the highest price-tag ever for a professional sports franchise. The deal still allows Jeanie Buss to remain as team governor, per the Associated Press, but a similar arrangement was in place when Mark Cuban sold his controlling stake of the Dallas Mavericks. And we know what happened after that.

Mark Walter is known not only for owning the Dodgers, but also the Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women's Hockey League, and several auto racing teams through TWG Motorsports.

Would you believe Walter is also a native of Cedar Rapids, IA?

One of the strangest footnotes I've discovered this year — right up there with Brian Thompson, the slain CEO of United Healthcare attending the University of Iowa — Walter has roots in the Hawkeye State. Born in 1960, Walter attended (now) Thomas Jefferson High School in 1978, and his father worked at a local concrete block manufacturing plant, per The Gazette.

Walter attended Creighton in Omaha where he studied accounting and business, before heading to Northwestern University Law School in 1985. He went on to become heavily involved in insurance, and presently owns 21% of TWG Global Holdings, a multinational conglomerate founded by Guggenheim Partners, which Walter is co-founder and CEO. Guggenheim is a global investment and advisory financial services firm.

After purchasing the Dodgers for $2.15 billion in 2012, a price considered "stunning" at the time, Walter has seen the Dodgers become one of the best teams in modern baseball history. They won the World Series in 2020, won it again last year, and they have the best player in the sport on their roster in Shohei Ohtani.

At this time, it's not clear how much of the Lakers Walter is acquiring. He was part of a group that bought 27% of the franchise in 2021. Reportedly, Jeanie Buss will still own at least 15% of the Lakers once the transaction is approved.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made mention of the news by saying Walter's acquisition marks "a very exciting day for the Lakers" and the city of Los Angeles:

He’s very competitive and he’s going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year and make sure the city feels proud about the Lakers and the legacy that they’ve already built with the Buss family - Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts, per the Associated Press

Read more about Cedar Rapids native Mark Walter acquiring the controlling stake of the Los Angeles Lakers on the Associated Press' website.