Beyonce Interested in Buying Share of Houston Rockets: Report
The Houston Rockets are in a good place right now, and it looks like Beyoncé wants to be a part of it. According to Bloomberg’s Scott Soshnick, people “familiar with the matter” told him the pop superstar is interested in becoming a part owner of the franchise.
Coming off of a season in which they won 55 games and made it to Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals, current team owner Leslie Alexander made the surprise announcement last month that the franchise is now for sale. While Alexander didn’t explain the exact reasons for his decision — “I’ve made this decision after much deliberation with my family and friends,” he said — Rockets CEO Tad Brown mentioned that Alexander told him being an owner “can wear on you after so many decades.”
Now 73 years old, Alexander bought the team in 1993 for $85 million. Forbes recently valued the franchise at $1.65 billion and estimated they’ll become the “next $2 billion franchise” due to its popularity in China.
While it remains to be seen how involved she would want to be with the Rockets, her interest is obvious: Beyoncé was born and raised in Houston, Texas and has never shied away from paying tribute to her hometown teams in both her live performances and her songs. Her husband Jay-Z was once a part owner of an NBA team, too, although he later sold his share of the Brooklyn Nets to Jason Kidd due to conflicts with Roc Nation Sports.
Beyonce can’t afford to buy the team outright by herself, but Soshnick notes she would “add superstar sizzle to any ownership group, likely helping the team with local and international marketing.” She will join a number of celebrities with investments in sports teams if she does get involved, such as Justin Timberlake, Venus and Serena Williams, Jennifer Lopez and Will Ferrell.