By Mason Levinson
Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) — The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world at $1.5 billion, supplanting the Washington Redskins atop Forbes magazine's annual list of National Football League teams.
The value of the Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones, increased 28 percent from last year, Forbes reported in its ranking of the NFL's 32 teams. Construction of a new stadium helped boost the value of franchise, passing the Redskins ($1.467 billion), who had held the top position for the past seven years. Washington, owned by Daniel Snyder, continues to lead the league with $312 million in revenue and $66 million in operating income.
Both teams' franchise values are greater than the New York Yankees, whose $1.2 billion value tops all other Major League Baseball teams, as well as Manchester United ($1.453 billion), the most-valuable soccer team.
The New England Patriots are third in the NFL with a value of $1.199 billion, followed by the Houston Texans at $1.056 billion and the Philadelphia Eagles at $1.052 billion.
The Cowboys, who ranked third on last year's NFL list, saw their value increase while building a $1 billion stadium in Arlington, Texas, which is scheduled to open in 2009. The stadium, which will seat 80,000 people and can be expanded to hold 100,000, will host the 2011 Super Bowl, the first to be held in the Dallas area.
“The Cowboys' new stadium added about $350 million to their value in the past year,'' Forbes national editor Michael Ozanian said in an e-mail. “The value went up that much because the construction is moving along on schedule and many of the stadium's suites and sponsorships already sold.''
Giants Are Eighth
The New York Giants are eighth on the list at $974 million, while the New York Jets are 10th at $967 million. Earlier this month, the two teams broke ground on a shared $1.3 billion stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is scheduled to open in 2010 and hold 82,500 people.
Defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis is the 21st most valuable NFL team at $911 million. The Colts had a $17.3 million operating loss last year. Only the Minnesota Vikings, who are the NFL's least-valuable franchise at $782 million, had a greater operating loss ($19.1 million).
The average NFL franchise value is $957 million, up 7 percent from last year, Forbes said.
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