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June 26, 2009
Nets for Sale?
Atlantic Yards Report, Nets for sale? SI says rumors explain Carter trade; deal contingent on Brooklyn move
So, Sports Illustrated reports that the Nets might be for sale, but not to an ownership group--as Newark Mayor Cory Booker contends is in the wings--that would keep them in New Jersey.
Rather, the sale is contingent on the move to Brooklyn, which certainly makes sense. Should a new arena be built, there would be new revenues and the value of the team would go up. I just thought the [added: increasing talk about a] sale would happen closer to the opening of the new arena.
Sale allowed by state
A clause in the Empire State Development Corporation's General Project Plan, as I wrote in December 2006, states, in part:
In addition, in the event the Nets professional basketball franchise is sold to another entity prior to the completion of the Arena, Project Sponsors may transfer their interest in the Arena to the purchasing entity or its affiliate, provided ESDC and the City are reasonably satisfied that such entity can satisfactorily complete the development of the Arena or if such entity retains the Project Sponsors to develop the Arena.Potential owners
The potential owners include minority owner and native Brooklynite Vinny Viola (profile via NetsDaily's NetIncome/Bobbo) but also a group headed by the Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov owns Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow. And there are two other potential groups.
NoLandGrab: "I just thought the sale would happen closer to the opening of the new arena." Does Norman Oder know something we don't? If not, he's being a bit "conclusory" himself, since this is just the latest Nets-for-sale rumor. [Update: Oder added a qualifier to his post.]
In addition, if Ratner did sell the team, who would hold the arena lease? Ratner or the new team owner? Who would own the revenue streams? Without any answers to those questions, it's hard to evaluate the plusses and minuses of Brooklyn vs. Newark for a Nets' principal owner not named Ratner.
Atlantic Yards Report, Booker still optimistic about Nets in Newark, but weak on specifics (as well as promised date of Brooklyn move)
After a week in which governmental approvals--one final, one preliminary--fell into place to hasten the building of the Atlantic Yards project and thus move of the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is sounding only somewhat less optimistic than he did five weeks ago, when he declared, “I think there's going to be a comeuppance very soon where the team is going to go up for sale.”
That could mean a move, as Booker hopes, to the Prudential Center in Newark, where the Nets this October will play two of three preseason games. But Booker’s optimism should be taken with an extra grain of salt, given that he claimed that the Nets are slated to move to Brooklyn in 2014, not 2011, as developer Forest City Ratner claims, or 2012, as New York government officials and documents suggest.
Opening the WBGO radio show Newark Today with Mayor Cory Booker tonight, host Andrew Meyer pointed out that “it seems like [Nets principal owner Bruce Ratner] is getting his way. Last month you were certain the Nets’ deal was going to fall apart, putting Newark in a good position to get the team. Do you still feel that way now?”
Nets Daily, Ratner May Sell Nets - Team Investor, Russian Oligarch Interested
Bruce Ratner is trying to sell the Nets, reports Sports Illustrated. In explaining the trade of Vince Carter, Ian Thomsen writes four potential owners have emerged, including Vincent Viola, the team’s second biggest investor, and Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian oligarch who until recently was an owner of CSKA Moscow, one of Europe’s top teams. Two other unnamed groups are in the mix, writes Thomsen.
Nets Daily, Who is Vincent Viola?
Does he support the move to Brooklyn?
Viola, a native Brooklynite, has supported the move to Brooklyn and as an investor in the Nets, he retains a significant financial interest in the Atlantic Yards. He points out that the arena site is nearby St. Cecilia’s elementary school, which he attended in the 1960’s.
NLG: We're not sure how "significant" Viola's "financial interest" is in "Atlantic Yards," but his stake in the club would certainly be worth more if Ratner can pull off the building of the arena.
Posted by eric at June 26, 2009 12:38 PM