Newark Mayor Wants the Nets
Why are we writing about this? Not because Newark Mayor Cory Booker held his nose the other day and embraced the New Jersey Devils and the arena with which his No, we're writing about it because of this sentence in the NY Times article: "The Booker administration would also love to lure the Nets basketball team if plans for a new home in Brooklyn come to naught." Could it come to pass? Much would seem to depend on how long the Atlantic Yards proposal is tied up in litigation as the eminent domain suit works it way through the Federal judiciary and, of course, on the outcome. (Yes, we're assuming rubber stamp approval by the Empire State Development Corporation and an okay by the Public Authorities Control Board.) And, the Nets, of course, also have an out in their New Jersey lease that allows them to go to Queens. (Sunnyside Yards, anyone?)
Newark's arena is likely to be the financial turkey to beat all turkeys with only a hockey team as its tenant. So, the only thing to keep Newark from drowning in a sea of red ink and having to bail out its $365 million arena is a basketball team. The beautiful new arena in Newark is due to open next fall.
posted by rsguskind at 10:27 AM
2 Comments:
I hope the Devils never win another Stanley cup. I hope that bad karma follows their team for this "devilish" deal. A hockey arena in a mostly black desperately poor inner-city - with the city picking up most of the tab.
Vanderbeeke and the other owners were sitting across the table from a bunch of rubes from the other administration. And I'll bet they did all they could do get it done before the next election knowing that Booker would probably get in - and "negotiation" wouldn't be so laughable.
I'm sure the mafia played some role in the Newark arena - and yes, that's a real cosideration when it comes to New Jersey.
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