Time for someone new to meet the Mets.
There’s no way Fred Wilpon can keep his grip on the team with a billion-dollar lawsuit hanging over his head.
Sources with direct knowledge of the 74-year-old Wilpon’s finances said that even if an angel investor took the embattled owner up on his offer to buy 25 percent of the team for $200 million, it wouldn’t put a dent in his potential Madoff liabilities.
The actual Met team — including ticket sales, broadcast rights and branding rights — is worth $860 million. But the team owes a staggering $430 million in debt. Last year, the Mets lost another $30 million, mainly from interest payments on that massive debt.
Citi Field, managed by Wilpon’s Sterling Equities, is another financial drain.
Wilpon owes $700 million for construction. And under a deal structured with the city, the stadium — controlled by a Sterling entity called Queens Ballpark Corp — must pay $50 million in annual “payments in lieu of taxes.”
The debt interest and stadium payments leave Sterling about $80 million in the red each year, sources with direct knowledge of the Mets’ financials said.
Likewise, Sterling Equities’ 65 percent stake in SportsNet NY is choked with debt.
The network gener- ates about $100 million a year in profit after paying $20 million in interest on $450 million in loans.
Of that profit, Wilpon only keeps $65 million because he has other partners.
So add all this debt — around $1.58 billion — to the near $1 billion he could owe Madoff investors, and there’s no way he can keep the team.
“This will devolve into a full sale,” a source said.
Besides, the source said, no one would want to go into business with Wilpon now and bear the risk that he’ll declare bankruptcy under the weight of the Madoff victims’ claim.
Not to mention that the offer to buy was just for the team — not a share in his lucrative cable network.
The Wilpons would love to be rid of the suit, but “Fred can’t settle,” a source close to the situation told The Post.
He doesn’t have the money, the source added.
The Mets also need a substantial investment in the team roster to boost attendance and make the organization profitable — something that Wilpon just can’t do.
So the only way to turn a profit would be too boost attendance.
Last year, overall attendance was 2.6 million. Every extra 100,000 seats it can sell a season translate to an extra $10 million to $15 million in revenue.
Wilpon’s Mets empire has three components: the team, Citi Field and SportsNet NY, the broadcasting arm. Here’s a glance at his debts:
The Mets
Owes: $430M in debt
Pays: $30M a year in interest
Citi Field
Owes: $700M for construction
Pays: $50M a year to city
SportsNet NY
Owes: $450M in loans
Pays: $20M in interest
Profits: $100M a year; Wilpon gets $65M
Total debt
$1.58B
(Wilpon’s exposure in lawsuits ranges from $300M to $1B)