The 2008 club won the National League West, swept the Chicago Cubs in the Division Series, and came within three wins of the World Series before bowing to the eventual World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers' performance in October was their best in 20 years.

Amid a season-long celebration in 2008 of the club's 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, McCourt committed to save Dodger Stadium. Expressing a vision for "The Next 50" years, McCourt on April 24 ended speculation about the future of the aging jewel, now 47 years old, and announced long-term plans for renovations and innovations that would in essence create a "new" Dodger Stadium designed to allow Major League Baseball's third-oldest ballpark to thrive for the next 50 years.

Expressing geographical vision as well, McCourt fortified the legacy of the pioneering franchise by playing Major League Baseball's first-ever games in China, March 15 and 16, at Beijing's Wukesong Stadium.

Two weeks later, the Dodgers made history again, returning to the LA club's original home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, for a charity exhibition game that drew a Guinness record 115,300 fans, the largest crowd to ever attend a professional baseball game. The event raised one million dollars, a total matched by the McCourt family, for ThinkCure!, the club's innovative official charity that accelerates collaborative research to cure cancer.

In 2009, another vision became a reality with the creation of Camelback Ranch - Glendale, a year-round training facility in Arizona that brings Dodgers Spring Training close to Southern California fans for the first time. The state of the art campus and its faculty will educate players in "The Dodger Way," a blueprint for success that McCourt has revived and applied to the team, the fans, the community, and the family that comprises the Dodgers organization.

Improving the amenities at Dodger Stadium, McCourt has invested $140 million since 2004, replacing the seats in the stadium bowl, planting a new playing field, upgrading the warning track, renovating concourses with new concessions offering new menu options, and reconfiguring parking to improve traffic flow.

Invigorating the Dodgers' community efforts, the McCourt family describes the areas of focus as the "four bases of a diamond." First Base represents youth sports and recreation, with its Dodgers Dreamfields program refurbishing or building 42 more baseball fields for children to bring the total to 50.

At Second Base, the focus is on education and literacy, illustrated by the Dodgers Scholars program. Each year, the Dodgers Dream Foundation donates $105,000 to the Jackie Robinson Foundation to provide 42 college scholarships of $2500 each.

Third Base addresses health, an effort led by ThinkCure! Inspired by the legacy of his grandfather, Francis McCourt, who helped create the Jimmy Fund when he owned the Boston Braves, McCourt launched the club's official charity in 2007 in partnership with City of Hope and Childrens Hospital LA.

The completion of the diamond, the "home plate" of the club's community efforts, is the environment, in which the Dodgers "Think Blue, but Act Green."

Within the Dodgers family, McCourt in 2009 is appointing former pitching star and social pioneer Don Newcombe as a Special Advisor to the Chairman, where he joins medical pioneer Dr. Frank Jobe, appointed in 2008, and legendary Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, appointed in 2006.

In 1977, the Boston native founded The McCourt Company, which specializes in the development of major commercial real estate projects. His real estate development roots span five generations, and his family has been associated with nearly every major Boston real estate project, including the city's Back Bay, Logan Airport, and Boston's waterfront. McCourt earned a reputation as a visionary leader and influential businessman, leaving a positive and lasting impact on the city of Boston and revolutionizing Boston's new Seaport. Today, this booming area boasts a new convention center, hotels, offices, residential buildings and numerous commercial, government and cultural facilities. The McCourt Company moved to Los Angeles in 2006.

McCourt serves on the Board of Directors of Georgetown University, from which he graduated in 1975, and co-chaired Georgetown University's Third Century Campaign (New England Region), which raised more than $1 billion for the university. He is active in an array of educational, trade, civic, and charitable organizations.

He and his wife, Jamie, were married in 1979. They have four sons: Drew, Travis, Casey, and Gavin. McCourt coached several of their baseball and ice hockey teams as part of his commitment and passion for youth sports.