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May 2, 2008
Nets in Newark: Rumors and Gossip
Rumors of talks to keep Nets in Jersey have been upgraded to full-fledged gossip after the Newark Star-Ledger published a story, citing unnamed sources, reporting that Nets owner Bruce Ratner has met with parties interested in purchasing the team. As you'd expect, Ratner and his pr machine are in full denial mode.
Field of Schemes, Nets-to-Newark move in the works?
Commentary and analysis from Neil deMause:
Being second fiddle to an NHL team usually isn't as enticing a prospect as having your own arena, but there are some special circumstances here: The Nets are currently losing an estimated $40 million a year playing in the Meadowlands, and are stuck there at least another two seasons before a Brooklyn arena could be ready. And they're facing an increasingly tougher financial road there as well, despite heavy public subsidies.
...
Ratner, meanwhile, insists the team isn't for sale, which could be read either way: It could be meant as a sign of reassurance to Brooklyn legislators who might be wondering if they should pull the plug on Atlantic Yards; or, you might wonder whether, if Ratner's really serious about getting more money out of Brooklyn, he wouldn't want to raise the specter of a Newark move to up the ante. I wouldn't hazard a guess, but it's worth noting the Nets wouldn't be the first team to stay in New Jersey after initially insisting it was not an option.
Gothamist, Nets Owner Ratner Rumored to Sell Team to Newark
Like a game of telephone, this Gothamist headline is a little ahead of the actual story, which rehashes the rumors, published in the Star-Ledger, of exploratory TALKS regarding selling the Nets to an ownership group that would move the team to Newark.
No one has said that Ratner is actually selling the team.
The Brooklyn Paper, Nets to stay in Jersey?
The Brooklyn weekly primarily cited the Star-Ledger article, including this point made by George Zoffinger, former chief executive of the New Jersey Sports Authority:
“When you start to spend north of $500 million for an arena, you can’t generate the cash flow necessary to generate a decent return on the investment,” Zoffinger told the Star-Ledger.
“If the number is $900 million, it’s absolutely, positively not viable from an economic standpoint.”
NoLandGrab: Keep in mind, the financial viability of the arena in Ratner's original analysis, compiled by sports venue economist Andrew Zimbalist, assumed that the arena in Newark would not be built. Now the Newark arena is open for business, and the Ratner arena price tag has ballooned to more than twice the original amount.
Associated Press, via NY Post, RATNER: NETS NOT FOR SALE
NJ Nets owner Bruce Ratner is denying all rumors:
The New Jersey Nets are not for sale, the owner of the NBA team said today in shooting down a report that investors were being assembled to buy the franchise and move it to Newark.
"The team is very simply not for sale and any stories that suggest or insinuate that we would be interested in listening to those conversations are flat out false," Bruce Ratner said in a statement. "We are focused on breaking ground on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn later this year and building all of Atlantic Yards, nothing else."
NoLandGrab: Bruce Ratner doesn't have a great track record with telling the truth, so we're not sure if he expects people to believe him this time.
He is between a rock and a hard place on this one. He'd be crazy not to entertain the idea of selling a team that is losing $40 million a year. On the other hand, if he's talking to parties interested in keeping the Nets in NJ, it causes all sorts of problems with potential investors in Atlantic Yards.
This wire story was picked up by several other daily news outlets that cover the NBA:
The NY Times
MetroNY
Edmonton Sun
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Washington Post
Posted by lumi at May 2, 2008 4:46 AM