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LOS ANGELES -- Frank McCourt, a Boston real estate developer who failed in two earlier attempts to buy major league teams, has reached an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers from News Corp., both parties said Friday.

McCourt will head an investment group that reportedly has offered more than $400 million for the team, Dodger Stadium and adjoining real estate, plus training facilities in Vero Beach, Fla., and the Dominican Republic.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a joint statement.

Major league team owners must approve the sale before it can be finalized.

McCourt, 49, wanted to buy the Boston Red Sox in 2001, but eventually dropped out of the bidding. The team and the New England Sports Network were sold by the Yawkey family and its trust to former Florida Marlins owner John Henry and his partners for $660 million.

McCourt also was interested in purchasing the Anaheim Angels earlier this year, but Arturo Moreno bought them from the Walt Disney Co. for $184 million last May.

News Corp. purchased the Dodgers from Peter O'Malley in 1998 for $311 million and has been losing money since. O'Malley's late father, Walter, had moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.

The Dodgers haven't made the playoffs since 1996 and haven't won a postseason game since they were World Series champions in 1988.

They finished this past season with an 85-77 record that left them in second place in the NL West, 15{ games behind San Francisco. Florida took the wild card with a 91-71 record.

Former manager Tommy Lasorda, now an executive with the team, said he hopes to see the Dodgers regain past glory.

``It's been an organization of great pride. An organization under the O'Malley regime that was very, very successful,'' said the 76-year-old Lasorda, who has been in the organization for 54 years. ``We won many championships and lately we've struggled and now what we have to do is bring this organization back to where it once was.''

A major step in the proposed sale will be McCourt's ability to prove to the other team owners that he has enough financial back for the deal to go through. At least two-thirds of baseball's 30 owners would have to approve the sale.

Peter Chernin, president of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group, said the company has been ``privileged to own one of America's most enduring sports franchises for more than five years.''

Chernin said in a statement that McCourt and his wife and business partner, Jamie, ``have a remarkable enthusiasm for baseball and a profound commitment to the community.''

McCourt said in a statement that the negotiations had been complex.

``We have the deepest respect for the history and traditions of the Dodgers, and we recognize the strong contributions the team has made to the local community,'' he said.

His investment partners in the deal were not identified.

McCourt is president and chief executive officer of The McCourt Co., a Boston firm primarily involved in real estate development. Jamie McCourt serves as vice president and general counsel for the company.

The joint statement noted that if the deal is approved, McCourt plans to be active in day-to-day operations of the team while continuing to direct operations of his company in Boston.

McCourt is a longtime Red Sox season ticket holder, and his grandfather was part-owner of the old Boston Braves.

Several others earlier tried to work out an agreement with News Corp. to buy the Dodgers, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer, California developer Alan Casden and former Seattle Mariners owner Jeff Smulyan.

News Corp. had been entertaining offers for the team and facilities since last year.

Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press