Co-manager of Trust Co. of the West’s $1 billion large-cap growth fund, Propper De Callejon, 42, shared the resentment of Kings diehards who suspected that the franchise owners, led by Denver-based billionaire Philip Anschutz, were pocketing the profits from $10 beers and $3,000-plus season tickets rather than reinvesting in on-ice talent. In January he took fan activism to a new level: He requested a look at the team’s books, and to his surprise, “they called my bluff.” No private U.S. sports franchise had ever before shown its financials to a fan; Propper De Callejon got access to audited financial statements as well as time with Anschutz Entertainment Group CFO Dan Beckerman. “With a public company, I’d be lucky to get one hour with the CFO, but I got ten hours, and there wasn’t a question he didn’t answer,” says Propper De Callejon. The bottom line? The Kings are on pace to lose $12.5 million for 2002'03, bringing total losses to $108 million since Anschutz bought the team for $115 million in 1995. Propper De Callejon came away reassured that Anschutz is running a tight ship, but he believes that it can’t afford the player salaries necessary to build a championship team.
