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May 30, 2010
The Russian moves to Brooklyn
Slam
by Kyle Stack
This article notes NYU Prof Robert Boland's analysis of Mikhail Prokhorov's purchase of the Nets and the outlook for a new arena for the Nets. He takes a dim view of both.
Robert Boland, a Sports Management professor at New York University, believes Prokhorov wouldn’t have been given the chance to own a team in past years.
“He’s a guy who the League never would have approved in good times,” Boland said. “They’re afraid of him.”
Boland explained that the source and stability of Prokhorov’s wealth is in question and that Prokhorov’s financial state “would have been much more questioned by American sports leagues before this economic collapse.”
Operation of the Nets' arena will be problematic for several reasons. One difficulty will be finding people willing to buy tickets to watch the Nets.
The $1 billion arena is destined to suffer financially right from its expected opening in the 2012-13 NBA season, according to Boland.
“They will have trouble selling out the arena the first couple of years,” Boland said. “The Knicks are having trouble selling out and they’re in Madison Square Garden with four million people walking under it every day.”
Even though the Nets’ Brooklyn arena would seemingly benefit from the 2.5 million people who live in the borough and the resulting enthusiasm of Brooklyn finally getting a pro sports team after what will have been a 54-year pro sports drought, there are plenty of questions yet to be answered. First on the list is whether fans are willing to pay for tickets to watch a team which has no assurance of being among the NBA’s elite during the next several years.
There's also the problem of a glut of arenas in the region whose managements are chasing what little money corporations are willing to spend on luxury boxes.
Whether the common fan can afford to attend games at the Nets’ BK arena is far from the their only concern. Finding corporate partners willing to shill out money for luxury suites could become a tough exercise.
The Brooklyn arena, if and when it opens in 2012, would be just the latest modern sports mega-facility to open in the New York metropolitan area. Prudential Center (2007), Yankee Stadium (2009), Citi Field (2009), Red Bull Arena (2010) and New Meadowlands Stadium (2010) have all taken their rightful places in line. That’s not to mention the renovations at Madison Square Garden which by the time it’s expected to be finished in 2013 will have given the building’s interior a complete makeover.
Any corporation willing to splurge on luxury suites is an unpopular choice in these times. “Their shareholders would be groaning,” Boland said. But it does still occur, although the Nets can’t be assured that their 104 planned luxury suites will sell out immediately.
Posted by steve at May 30, 2010 8:03 AM