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October 22, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Gothamist, Nets May Move to Newark While Awaiting Mythical Brooklyn Arena
John Del Signore has a good round-up of the latest Nets news.
Two preseason games at the Prudential Center in Newark have been so highly attended that the Nets are considering moving there from the Meadowlands while they wait for a new home in Brooklyn. An October 13th preseason game against the Celtics drew 12,790 fans to the Prudential Center, three times the the size of a typical preseason crowd at the Meadowlands' Izod Center. Then, a game against the Knicks drew 15,721. Those are nice numbers, but getting out of their lease could cost Nets owner and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner millions.
The Nets' lease with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority runs through 2013. If the team is moving to Brooklyn, it can opt out of the lease without penalties. But decamping to Newark would incur an $8 million penalty, which Ratner is hoping the state will waive. On the other hand, insiders tell the Star-Ledger that Ratner "is reluctant to leave the Izod Center because a move to Newark could undermine the Brooklyn plans."
NoLandGrab: Staying at the Izod Center and losing a million dollars a week could undermine those plans, too. Damned if Bruce does, damned if he doesn't.
NetsAreScorching, A MESSAGE FROM NEWARK
In sports, players or coaches will often tip their hats to an electric home crowd, referring to them as the 10th or 13th man on the field. But how often does an otherwise jilted fanbase come together to send a collective message to ownership about the state of their franchise? And how often does that message get sent in games that don’t actually count in the standings and are played in a city that’s not even technically considered “home field?”
With an estimated crowd of about 16,000 fans at last night’s Nets-Knicks preseason matchup at the Prudential Center in Newark, and about 13,000 fans the week before when the Nets played the Celtics at “The Rock,” fans of the “New Jersey” Nets appeared to be sending a message to those who wish to move the franchise away from the Izod Center in East Rutherford to a brand-new arena in Brooklyn: Consider Newark. And maybe, just maybe, if Brooklyn falls through, there’s a way to find your way back here. ...
There is still love in New Jersey for the Nets – especially in Newark – despite the past six year’s of drama that has seen ownership trade away its star players, dismantle its roster, switch architects to lessen costs, fight lawsuit after lawsuit, and seek help from a Russian oligarch with a checkered past. All in the name in Brooklyn.
Slam Dunk Central, Nets Liking The Prudential Center
The Nets’ lease with the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority runs until 2013; the team can opt out at just about any time as long as they’re moving to Brooklyn.
Team owner Bruce Ratner seems to be hesitant about a temporary move to Newark from their current home (The Izod Center), perhaps of his preconceived notion that the move would undermine plans for the relocation to Brooklyn and give New York state officials the impression that they’re playing one side against another.
NLG: NYS officials don't take kindly to competition, as Extell Development Corp. can attest.
The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, The Day: Fine Print Finally Read
New language “quietly inserted” last month into a lease proposal between the Empire State Development Corporation and AY developer Forest City Ratner appears to give Forest City a possible escape route from having to build the thousands of units of affordable housing that gave the project much of its political traction.
The 2,250 units of affordable housing are now required in the project “subject to governmental authorities making available” affordable housing subsidies.
This shifting of the ground, and the claim that it is illegal, is in fact one of the main prongs of the latest lawsuit against Atlantic Yards, filed on Monday.
Posted by eric at October 22, 2009 2:44 PM