LOS ANGELES -- Jay Roulier, a 39-year-old Denver real estate developer and one-third owner of the U.S. Football League's Houston Gamblers, has purchased the financially troubled Los Angeles Express of the USFL, it was announced Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not revealed.
Roulier said he has put his interest in the Gamblers up for sale.
The Express became available about two months ago when California and federal authorities began an investigation of original owner J. William Oldenburg and his San Francisco-based mortgage brokerage firm, Investment Mortgage International, for alleged improper real estate transactions. Those problems forced Oldenburg to sell off some of his assets.
Roulier, who owned a clothing store in Kansas at the age of 24, formed a company at the age of 31 that was the forerunner of Jay Roulier Interests, Inc., a firm that is currently developing a $750 million highrise commercial project and a $500 million office complex, both in Denver.
Roulier's assets are valued at an estimated $100 million to $125 million.
The Express, the USFL's Pacific Division champion, has been plagued by financial problems since its inception. The team has one of the highest payrolls in the league, led by quarterback Steve Young's $35 million contract, but has never attracted big crowds to the Los Angeles Coliseum and reportedly lost between $10 million and $15 million in the last year.
The investigation of Oldenburg centered around his sale of a piece of property he bought for $800,000 in 1977 and then sold for $55 million to Salt Lake City-based State Savings and Loan, which Oldenburg also owns.
