« NYC's Canyon of Heroes roars with Yankee pride. | Main | Businesses score points before NJ Nets games »
November 7, 2009
Saturday Morning Quartet from the Atlantic Yards Report
Atlantic Yards Report
Would Prokhorov buy the Nets even if they don't move (to Brooklyn)? ESPN columnist says yes
I suggested two weeks ago that, though a longshot, prospective owner Mikhail Prokhorov might want the Nets even if the Brooklyn move falls through.
Mark Stein on ESPN.com discovers a similar sentiment:
While it is widely assumed (as noted in Box 1) that the Nets have to end up in Brooklyn to have any shot of keeping their hopes alive in the LeBron James Sweepstakes -- have to -- it was stressed to me this week by one plugged-in source that the same does not apply to would-be Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
The early word is that Prokhorov, whose eventual approval by fellow NBA owners is also widely assumed, is determined to be the Nets' majority owner.
So determined that he apparently wants to take over even if the franchise can't extricate itself from New Jersey.
Interesting. While there obviously would be advantages in a brand new arena with better access to New York media and a new fan base, from Prokhorov's perspective, that may not be the deciding issue. The scarcest commodity is an NBA franchise.
But you can bet that if he does become the owner of a team that stays in New Jersey (but moves to Newark), the tentative deal he has with Bruce Ratner would be renegotiated.
Nets: come meet injured players (it was their idea!)
The Nets' marketing efforts, which include advertising on practice jerseys and a reversible jersey promotion, have gotten a bit more desperate, which is not surprising, given that they're the National Basketball Association's only winless team and playing in an inaccessible, lame-duck arena.
From Julian Garcia in the New York Daily News's InterNets blog:
The team sent out a release a little while ago that says Nets players not in uniform for tomorrow night's home game at the Meadowlands will visit restaurants, lounges and other areas at the IZOD Center to meet and greet fans. And considering the state of the Nets right now, we're not talking about a bunch of scrubs who will be out there pressing the flesh.
...Usually, CEO Brett Yormark is behind these types of ideas, and he's often quoted in the releases. But president Rod Thorn is quoted in this one, which could be an indication of just how concerned the Nets are that their 0-5 start is affecting fans' interest in the team, which already has one foot in Brooklyn.
"If our players can't be on the court due to an injury, they still want to be visible and engage with the fans in the arena," said Thorn.
(Emphasis added)
Of course they do. I'm sure it was their idea. Or Thorn's. Not that he's made a practice of it during his long basketball career.
Brooklyn Paper offers a to-do list for Bloomberg, omits Atlantic Yards
A Brooklyn Paper editorial about Mayor Mike Bloomberg's challenges headlined Mike — fix this already, lists several issues for Brooklyn, which Democratic challenger Bill Thompson won.
It cites the Gowanus Canal and then Coney Island, "Bloomberg’s other main Brooklyn re-development plan," which is something of a fudge. While Atlantic Yards may not be Bloomberg's Brooklyn re-development plan--and he may be quick to pin responsibility on the state, he surely counts it as a priority.
(Also, a New York Observer round-up of expert opinion on Bloomberg's real estate challenges omits Atlantic Yards.)
New York City Comptroller-elect John Liu was on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show this morning, and he gave a somewhat vague answer when asked about Atlantic Yards by "Lenore in Brooklyn." The action begins at about 10:20.
"In these difficult times, how are you going to use your office regarding Atlantic Yards and the enormous subsidies of taxpayer money that are going towards private developer profit?" asked Lenore. "The Independent Budget Office [reported] the area for Atlantic Yards as clearly a money-loser for the city. We've also given away 400 million dollars in naming rights for the first subway station in the New York City system; we gave that away for free."
Yes, the IBO reported the arena would be a money loser, but her other statistics were off. The state gave give Forest City Ratner naming rights (which it sold for a reported $400 million over 20 years) to be used as "financing" for the project. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority sold station naming rights for a cumulative total of $4 million over 20 years.
...
Liu sidestepped the question somewhat, given that it was premised on the notion that the government has given away too much for the project to be worthwhile. Instead, he talked as if he could ensure that benefits would be delivered.
Posted by steve at November 7, 2009 8:53 AM