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June 26, 2006
Newark Takes a Hard Lesson In the Pro Stadium Game
New York Sun
By EVAN WEINER
James finally signed a deal with the Devils last fall after years of negotiating with New Jersey Nets ownership to move the NBA team to Newark. When Bruce Ratner decided to move his Nets to a proposed arena in Brooklyn, James turned to Vanderbeek, who still expects the building to open its doors in the fall of 2007. It’s unknown what would happen to the Devils if Booker terminates the deal.
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You might think a city as rich with business opportunities as New York would be immune to this sort of predicament. But at the height of the West Side Stadium battle last year, Mayor Bloomberg said that if the city failed to build the stadium, it would deter businesspeople who want to invest with the city. The West Side stadium was killed by Assemblyman Sheldon Silver about a year ago, but life went on, and Bloomberg quickly announced that the city would partner with George Steinbrenner to build a new stadium for the Yankees and with Fred Wilpon to construct a new Mets facility.It would not be surprising to see Bloomberg and New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner use the same mantra in boosting the Ratner-proposed Brooklyn Arena project at the Atlantic Yards. If Ratner’s plans to build an arena for his Nets is eventually shot down, it will send out a bad message to those who want to do business in New York: You can’t trust New York to follow through.
Posted by amy at June 26, 2006 7:57 AM