CLEVELAND (Ticker) --- The Cleveland Indians, enjoying the apex of their popularity and profitability, have been sold to a group headed by Ohio attorney Larry Dolan for approximately $320 million.

Richard E. Jacobs, who transformed the team from a laughingstock into a perennial power, today announced plans to complete the sale to the 68-year-old Dolan and family trusts by the first quarter of 2000.

"The sale of this franchise to Larry Dolan fulfills my strong desire to turn the team over to someone who is deeply committed to Cleveland and its tremendous fans," Jacobs said. "Larry and his family have the enthusiasm and strongest desire to continue the success of this ballclub well into the new century."

Speculation that the team was about to be sold sent the team's stock price up $2.56 to $20.62 on Wednesday, its highest price in a year. It closed at $20.63 today.

Jacobs announced in May that he was putting the team up for sale and among the eager bidders was Dolan, a lifetime Indians fan who is president of a law firm in Chadron, Ohio. He reportedly became wealthy from ownership of stock in Cablevision Systems Corp. His brother, Charles, is chairman of Cablevision.

"It is an honor to follow Dick Jacobs' footsteps," Dolan said. "I want to put a team that will be competitive every year. I will meet my responsibility that I will be competitive."

Jacobs will walk away an even wealthier man. He bought the team with his late brother, David, for about $40 million in 1986 and raised $60 million in an initial public stock offering at $15 a share in June 1998. The Indians were the first Major League Baseball team to offer public sale of stock.

The final purchase price will be subject to certain adjustments that will not be determined until closing, but it will likely be a record for a baseball team. The Los Angeles Dodgers were sold to the Fox Group last year for about $311 million. The NFL's expansion Cleveland Browns were purchased for $530 million by banking magnate Al Lerner.

The deal also is subject to the approval of the company's shareholders and Major League Baseball.

"I've had a lot of fun with the team. but life's going to go on," Jacobs said. "I don't think I'll suffer from seller's remorse, but I will miss the day-to-day operations."

The Dolan family failed in attempts to personally buy several other teams, including the NFL's Browns and Washington Redskins. Cablevision, however, is the majority owner of the NBA's New York Knicks, the NHL's New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden.

Larry Dolan stressed that neither Cablevision nor Charles Dolan were involved in the sale and will not be involved in the team's operations.

Larry Dolan inherits a team that has drawn 373 straight sellout crowds at Jacobs Field, the state-of-the-art park that opened in 1994 and bears the owner's name. The stadium will continue to be known as Jacobs Field through at least the 2006 season.

Home attendance was just over one million in 1987 at crumbling Municipal Stadium but rose to a franchise-record 3.46 million this season.

Cleveland, which lost 101 games in 1987, has won each of the five American League Central Division titles since the inception of the division and advanced to the World Series in 1995 and 1997.

The only thing missing from Jacobs' tenure is a World Series title. The Indians were eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in the Division Series this past season.

"I don't believe in legacy. I don't believe in obituaries," Jacobs said. "I try to avoid both."

Despite protests from some Native Americans, Dolan said plans to retain the team's name and logo.