Orlando Magic chairman Dan DeVos made it clear during the team's media day Monday: His family intends to keep owning the Magic franchise for a long, long time.
"We have no desire to get rid of the team at all _ it's just not discussed," DeVos told the Orlando Sentinel as he responded to a question about his family's long-term plans for the team.
"We plan to keep the team around and enjoy Orlando," DeVos added. "We love Orlando. We love being here and we love the team. So we're going to keep at it. We're just fortunate that Orlando's been a great place to have a team, with the community support here from the fans and from the sponsorship side. It's outstanding. They've been with us through our ups-and-downs, and we've always appreciated that about Orlando. We've just got to get [the team's on-court play] going again."
The DeVoses have owned the Magic since the family patriarch, Amway co-founder Rich DeVos, purchased the franchise in 1991 for $85 million from Orlando real estate developer William duPont III. Forbes has estimated the Magic's value at $1.225 billion, 19th out of 30 NBA teams
Rich DeVos died two and a half weeks ago, at the age of 92.
In recent years, the family altered the Magic's ownership structure through estate planning. Ownership of the team was distributed between Rich and Helen DeVos' four children and spouses: Dick and his wife, Betsy, the U.S. Secretary of Education; Dan and his wife, Pamella; Cheri; and Doug and his wife, Maria.
The team has helped unify the family. It has captured the interest of Rich and Helen DeVos' grandchildren.
"It does what Dad originally bought the team for: to give the family something to rally around, something to have fun at, something to enjoy as a family," Dan DeVos said. "And it really has been a rallying point for the family. We do a lot of other family things together, but the NBA is so special. It's a small club and it's unique and it is something that we've really enjoyed all the years that we've had the team. So it's something we will continue."
