Hal Steinbrenner Elected Chairman of Yankee Global Enterprises

The New York Yankees answered a portion of the swirling question of who will succeed George Steinbrenner at the helm of baseball's most successful franchise.

Son Hal Steinbrenner, 38, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Yankee Global Enterprises LLC, the company which owns team which has won a record 26 World Series.

Hal also was promoted from executive vice president and treasurer of Yankees Global Enterprises LLC, the holding company for the team and the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network. He replaces Steve Swindal, who is in the process of divorcing Steinbrenner's daughter Jennifer.

George Steinbrenner, who has owned the Yankees since 1973, was profiled in the September issue of Condé Nast Portfolio. He has never formally named a successor, though he had hinted in recent years that Swindal might take over the team, which is moving into a new $955 million stadium in 2009.

The 77-year-old Steinbrenner has been in failing health in recent years and has rarely been seen at Yankee Stadium or in the pages of local tabloids. He has emphasized that the franchise would stay in the family with sons Hal and his 49-year-old brother Hank often mentioned as candidates.

True to form, Steinbrenner mouthpiece Howard Rubenstein declined to comment on Hal Steinbrenner's role as a possible successor to his father.