« Atlantic Yards critic turns conciliatory | Main | Development, Displacement, Leisure: Capital and Community Interests »
October 23, 2009
Prudential Center, Izod Center truce appears imminent
Bergen Record
by John Brennan
Front-page news from the Bergen Record.
A truce between the Meadowlands’ Izod Center and the Prudential Center in Newark appears to be imminent — and if the deal is signed, it could have the Nets moving to Newark next fall for two seasons (or more) and the Izod Center becoming the long-term concert and family show mecca for North Jersey.
Carl Goldberg, chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, and Jerry Zaro — Governor Corzine’s economic czar — confirmed Thursday that they have been meeting for four months, at Corzine’s insistence, with Devils chief owner Jeff Vanderbeek to complete such a deal.
Those talks also have included Nets chief executive Brett Yormark in recent weeks.
Zaro said détente between the arenas is critical.
“You can’t have two venues that close together fighting each other and have that be productive for the state,” Zaro said. “The governor recognized that this was going to be a festering wound.
One wonders how having arenas in Manhattan and Brooklyn fighting each other won't become a similar "festering wound."
The Nets’ franchise is in a critical moment in its history. The team needs to win a ruling in the New York State Court of Appeals next month and sell at least $600 million in bonds for Barclays Center construction, while also breaking ground in Brooklyn before year’s end — when a crucial Internal Revenue Service tax loophole will expire. Failing any of the three, the Nets’ tentative transfer of ownership to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov would be off, and the franchise could be up for sale to the highest bidder nationwide.
If the Nets fail to move to Brooklyn, the franchise may be more attractive to local bidders if a deal to move to Newark already is in place.
Posted by eric at October 23, 2009 12:18 PM