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March 16, 2010
RAPPER JAY-Z GETS MAJOR CRITICISM FOR TAKING HOMES TO BUILD STADIUM
The BoxHouston.com
by The Chile
I CURIOUSLY WATCHED THE PRESS CONFERENCE HELD LAST WEEK to celebrate the New Jersey Nets (well, not quite New Jersey anymore) stadium set to be built in Brooklyn. A group of investors, led by Bruce Ratner, were joined by many prominent New York public figures to celebrate the ground-breaking of one of the highest impact economic endeavors in the history of Brooklyn. Jay-Z is part of the group of investors who bought the Nets, so of course he attended the ceremony.
...Do I think Brooklyn should get an NBA team? Sure, why not? I like sports and I don’t blame residents who are excited about this project. Additionally, government and business interests become risky, yet necessary bedfellows in a capitalist society. If this project works out well, it certainly may help the city in the long-run. Simultaneously, for those who are in love with the idea of Jay-Z and Ratner bringing this team to Brooklyn, it is important to remember that many professional sports teams have financially violated the residents of cities across America. Citizens are on the weak side of the negotiation, since the residents have far more loyalty to the team than the owners have to the city. So, if Ratner and company hold the city hostage for more money in a few years, the citizens of Brooklyn will only have themselves and their elected leaders to blame.
The Jay-Z/Ratner/Nets saga is to be continued. We won’t know if this was a good decision for another 10 years.
NoLandGrab: We're going to go out on a limb here and make a prediction now: not a good decision.
Posted by eric at March 16, 2010 11:07 PM