The
Ricketts family has made a list of promises to Chelsea fans should their
takeover bid be successful, including a vow never to sign the Blues up to a
European Super League.
The Chicago Cubs-owning Ricketts are among the final four bidders aiming to
buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, with Cubs chiefs and siblings Tom and
Laura Ricketts fronting the bid.
Between 50 and 100 Chelsea supporters protested against the Ricketts' bid
before Saturday's Premier League clash with Brentford, over historical
comments made by Joe Ricketts - Tom and Laura's father - about people from
Muslim backgrounds.
Before the match, the Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) said its membership
"neither supports nor has confidence in" the potential new owners and that
77 per cent of members polled did not support the Ricketts' family bid.
Now the Ricketts family has reiterated its intention to bring "diversity and
inclusion" to Chelsea - along with other promises including a stadium
upgrade on their Stamford Bridge ground.
Joe Ricketts, who has no role at the Cubs or in the bid to buy Chelsea, used
Islamophobic language in emails sent between 2009 and 2013 that were leaked
in 2019. The 80-year-old later apologised.
In a statement released on Sunday the family said: "Over the past fortnight,
the Ricketts Family has met with several Chelsea supporter groups and
carefully listened to all their feedback.
List of the Ricketts' promises to Chelsea
fans
1. Make no change to the club’s name, badge and crest, or Chelsea blue,
without the consent of supporters.
2. Never participate in a European Super League and always protect the
integrity and heritage of Chelsea F.C.
3. Commit the resources necessary across all levels of the club to continue
winning trophies, including investing in the first team, experienced
football leadership and the Academy.
4. Put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the club and fight against
any form of discrimination or inequality.
5. Create an Advisory Committee with diverse representation to ensure our
decisions are informed by: a former men’s and women’s first team player,
members of the CST and Chelsea Pitch Owners, and influential community
leaders.
6. Explore every option to redevelop Stamford Bridge and do everything in
our power to keep playing in this historic stadium.
7. Match the current commitment to Chelsea F.C. Women and increase the
number of women’s matches played at Stamford Bridge.
8. Continue the vital charitable work of the Chelsea Foundation, seeking to
use the power of football and sport to motivate, educate and inspire
"As we enter the next phase of the process, we are sharing a list of
specific commitments that give fans a pivotal role in protecting Chelsea's
heritage and building for future success.
"We will continue to discuss our ambitions for the club with fans and the
wider football community in the coming days."
Tom Ricketts has built bridges with the Muslim community in Chicago since
the offensive emails surfaced in 2019, and continues to apologise for his
father's comments.
The Ricketts have been adding advisory partners in fine-tuning their bid -
understood to be funded entirely by cash - ahead of the April 11 deadline
for improved offers.
Hedge fund supremo Ken Griffin has added his significant personal financial
clout to the bid.
Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, amid Russia's invasion of
Ukraine. The 55-year-old was then sanctioned by the UK Government and later
the EU, with Downing Street claiming to have proven his links to Vladimir
Putin.
Chelsea have been granted a special Government licence to continue
operating, though under strict terms. Abramovich cannot profit from
Chelsea's sale, but had already vowed to write off the club's £1.5billion
debt.
LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and British business titan Jonathan
Goldstein, Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe, tand Boston Celtics
co-owner Stephen Pagliuca are the other three remaining contenders.
Cleveland Caveliers join Ricketts bid
Over the weekend, the owners of the NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers joined
forces with the Ricketts bid. Sources said on Saturday evening that Rock
Entertainment Group had agreed to invest a significant - though undisclosed
- sum in the bid.
The emergence of Dan Gilbert, one of the richest people in America with
wealth estimated by Forbes magazine at almost $31 billion, as a participant
in the auction raises the stakes still further as a quartet of bidders vie
to succeed Roman Abramovich as Chelsea's owner.
As well as the Cleveland Cavaliers, REG owns the Cleveland Monsters ice
hockey team, and the NBA G-League team Cleveland Charge. Mr Gilbert is also
an investor in the fast-growing e-sports arena, with a big stake in 100
Thieves, which has a significant presence in e-sports in Europe.
In total, Mr Gilbert presides over an empire of more than 100 affiliated
companies across the US, employing more than 30,000 people.
He acquired majority ownership of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005, since
when the team has made the NBA Finals five times, winning the championship
in 2016.
Mr Gilbert is said to have privately invested more than $400m into the
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the stadium which plays home to the Cavaliers
and the Monsters. People close to him said he had also privately invested
more than $25m into the Cavaliers' practice facility.
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