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June 4, 2009
Study shows Atlantic Yards NBA arena project could cost city big-time
NY Daily News
By Jotham Sederstrom
Poof! The arena's slim $25M net benefit to NYC just evaporated. Now it looks like the arena is going to cost the city:
The Independent Budget Office released data Friday suggesting that the rising costs of a planned NBA basketball arena and increased public funding have chipped away at an estimated $25 million in revenues projected for the city.
"It now appears that given the additional city contributions and the higher cost of the arena that the net fiscal impact from the public investment for the arena will be negative," said Independent Budget Office Deputy Director George Sweeting.
The findings are a reversal from a 2005 Independent Budget Office analysis, which had determined that ticket sales and other spending in Brooklyn by out-of-towners coming to Nets basketball games would provide an estimated $25 million in tax revenues over 30 years.
With city funding to the project skyrocketing from $100 million to $205 million over the past four years, the economic benefit to the city has diminished significantly, Sweeting said.
NoLandGrab: Those original findings were specious to begin with, and counted on a certain percentage of the dwindling NJ fanbase to make the trip to Brooklyn and for players to live and pay income tax in NYC.
What was a joke has now graduated to a farce. Hopefully, the IBO will eventually present an honest accounting of actual benefits and losses to the city, but we're not holding our breath.
Posted by lumi at June 4, 2009 5:57 AM