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October 11, 2007
Dolan’s Problems May Affect Prospects of New MSG
The NY Sun
By Evan Weiner
The chairman of Madison Square Garden, Jim Dolan, may be the most polarizing owner in sports today, and that could mean big trouble for him in the near future. Dolan wants a new MSG, but he may have tripped himself up by being found guilty of sexual harassment in the Anucha Browne Sanders case; by possibly going to trial in another sexual harassment suit that has been filed by a former captain of the New York Rangers cheerleading squad, and by launching an antitrust lawsuit against the NHL. All of these legal actions could result in Dolan failing to get a new Garden built with funding from taxpayers.
NoLandGrab: Maybe Dolan should hire Bruce Ratner as the developer, because we can't find anything Bruce-built that doesn't have a hefty pricetag for the taxpayer.
The reality is that Dolan doesn’t need a new building, and the city doesn’t need to finance his dream. The city is already paying big bills for minor league baseball parks in Brooklyn and on Staten Island, as well as the infrastructure for the Yankees’ and Mets’ new stadiums. It will also put up a chunk of money for Bruce Ratner’s planned Brooklyn project, which includes a basketball arena for Ratner’s Nets.
The reality is that none of the NY teams need public financing for a new venue:
- The Yankees and Mets set annual attendance records for the 2007 season, at 4,271,083 and 3,853,937 respectively.
- Bruce Ratner's $300-to-400-million naming-rights deal with Barclays Bank would pay for well more than half entire construction cost of a new arena for the NJ Nets.
We're still waiting to hear the compelling argument for public funding of a new arena for the Dolans.
Posted by lumi at October 11, 2007 8:32 AM