Report: Movie Producer Could Make Billion-Dollar Bid For The Pittsburgh Pirates

PITTSBURGH, PA - A veteran Hollywood movie producer and minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers is considering making an offer of as much as $1 billion to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates, a sports website reported.

Thomas Tull, producer of movies such as “The Dark Knight” and “The Hangover” is interested in purchasing the team, according to FanRag. He became a part of the Steelers during a 2009 restructuring and in February purchased a home in Edgeworth for $15 million. His multimillion-dollar Downtown Pittsburgh condominium is on the market.

The Pirates currently are owned by newspaper publisher Bob Nutting, who is unpopular with fans over his perceived unwillingness to spend money to put a consistently competitive team on the field. Nutting has been the team’s majority owner since 2007 and the team has had just three winning seasons.

Nutting, the CEO of Ogden Newspapers Inc. and the owner of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, has repeatedly indicated he has no intention of selling the team.

Tull unsuccessfully tried to buy the San Diego Padres five years ago. But a USA Today profile of Tull in May predicted he eventually will own a team, owing to his “passion for the game, a bank account flush with cash and his close relationship with some of the game’s biggest power brokers.”

Earlier this year, Tull sold his global entertainment company, Legendary, for $3.5 billion.

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