Bronx close to scoring $400M soccer stadium for NYCFC

What are they supposed to say?

I get haggling on the price of cars is all but dead but what's the first rule? You don't give away the fact that you HAVE to have that one.

Are they supposed to say something that implies that on their end they're locked in on that Bronx site and totally destroy any negotiating power?

Are they supposed to turn off anyone else that might come along and offer them a better deal elsewhere by stating that their mind is made up on the Bronx?

What they said shouldn't be read into and if you do you're a total moron.

 

First rule of horsetrading, never look willing to sell..
Second rule, never look like you have to buy..

De Blasio, "We are not sure there´s a need for a soccer stadium"
NYCFC, "Oh, we´re alright with Yankee Stadium"

 

They're closing off the grandstand and terrace levels.

 

New York Daily News writer Filip Bondy reported NYCFC co-owners considers building a soccer stadium outside of New York City if it can't find a suitable location within the five boroughs. He also mentioned NYCFC may not play any home matches at Yankees Stadium further down in October, because their (i.e., Yankees) playoffs schedule "won't be known". So, he stated, Major League Soccer could ease the burden for NYCFC by having "road games" in either Harrison (NJ), Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, or even Citi Field.

NYCFC will play games at Yankee Stadium in 2015, MLS expansion club could seek stadium outside New York City [April 21, 2014 @ 3:51PM EDT]
http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1763851

An excerpt:

"That is all well and good, but the arrangement between the MLS and MLB clubs is obviously less than ideal — and just as obviously temporary. For the first time, Yankee president Randy Levine said the co-owners might consider a site outside the five boroughs if no place can be found in the city for a soccer-specific stadium.

“This is here, until there’s another venue,” Levine said. “The Yankees are the primary tenant. The schedule revolves around the Yankees. There’s no timetable. There’s been dialogue, we’re looking at sites. If not New York City, then other sites. I never rule out anything. But I’m one voice.”"

It continued:

"Attempts to secure a site in Queens and the Bronx, however, have met with considerable neighborhood and red-tape resistance. The absence of a pro-development mayor like Mike Bloomberg may also slow matters. NYC FC is expected soon to announce a training site somewhere outside the city, and Yonkers is waiting with open arms for a possible stadium deal."

And:

" NYC FC likely will be unable to play any home soccer matches at the stadium down the stretch of its season in October, because the Yankees’ playoff schedule won’t be known. MLS could ease the team’s burden by staging October road games in Harrison, D.C., Philadelphia

and Boston. Or, theoretically, alternative home sites such as Citi Field might be utilized."

 

What exactly is De Blasio's motivation to work on a stadium for NYCFC in the above scenario?

More bluntly, why would De Blasio go out of his way, expending precious time and political capital, to build a stadium for NYCFC that NYCFC says they don't really need? Why wouldn't he just say, "great, glad that's settled then!"

Do you have any idea what you are talking about? Is my sarcasm meter faulty?

 

From what I understood the deal is ready to go from the last administration. The new administration is possibly just trying to squeeze some more milk from the teat and basically look good by getting a better deal. So it's a bit of wheeling and dealing to see where it goes. OTOH, it's possible that the new administration just does not want a stadium. Hard to say right now.

 

It should be noted to posters like Fuzzx and CornellBigRed, that I had written about this almost exactly (look it up) and met so much resistance from these people hell bent on De Blasio bending over backwards for a BX stadium. Well, now it's been posted by a highly reputable news source.

What does De Blasio get out of a BX stadium? Absolutely nothing.

Plus, read this article Yankee President Levine open to permanent NYC FC home outside New York City: http://www.empireofsoccer.com/president-permanent-outside-25139/

We've got a lot of people in denial on this board who conflate their dreams/wishes with reality. Just because you want to have a 5 borough stadium does NOT mean it will happen.

This is not pessimism but reality.

 

Which makes the decision to award the expansion franchise and figure out the stadium later such a gamble.

 

So if they can't make a deal for a stadium in the five boroughs, how does that make them any more "New York" ("better") than RBNY?

 

This is only valid under the assumption that De Blasio is desperate to get a stadium - of which there is no key indicator. You can believe what you want, but everything seems to point to major apathy or opposition toward this BX stadium.

If De Blasio wants this stadium, he could use the "bully pulpit" and campaign, give speeches, etc. But he doesn't talk about it, because he doesn't care!

We've got a lot of diehard fans on this board - that's great. But the reality is that NYC and the Mayor have a lot more problems/issues to resolve than a parking garage and a BX stadium.

Plus, there's also this assumption that NYC can't get a better tenant than NYCFC. That's false. Over the past decade, the area around Yankee Stadium was developed by big retail with Big Box stores coming in. Maybe, the city will hash a deal with another tenant rather than the NYCFC owners.

 

RBNY is New York but a lot of people don't know what New York really is.

Let's break it down for the people:

New York County - is the island of Manhattan. Originally, this was all there was of NYC. No other boroughs. Throughout the years, Manhattan (also known as New York, New York) added four boroughs - Staten Island, Brooklyn /Queens (formally part of Long Island), and the Bronx (formally part of Westchester County).

New York City - the five boroughs. But many borough people refer to the "city" as Manhattan. That's what's so ironic about all of this. Go to someone in Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx and ask them what's the "city" - most will say Manhattan. Mostly, new to the area New Yorkers or "out-of-towners" are so hell bent on the "city" being all five boroughs.

New York Metro Area - includes parts of NJ, parts of CT, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam counties. New York Red Bulls are part of the NY Metro Area because of the Harrison location.

New York State - pretty simple, the entire state.

This whole New York five borough thing holds little water for those truly from New York.

 

But it was NYCFC themselves who kept harping on about they being New York CITY's team. It is not NYFC , it is NYCFC. That is the distinction they created.

 

This distinction exists. Please don't take Mr. Vero's word for it. Whether it matters in terms of the success of NYCFC is up for debate. Nevertheless, the five boroughs are the city even if some parts of NYC are more "the city" than others. The Bronx and Queens are more "the city" than NJ or Westchester. Hell, even Staten Island is more "the city" than NJ.

 

If NYCFC ends up building outside of the 5 boroughs of NYC, then it is a colossal failure on theirs and MLS' part. The stadium should have been signed and sealed before any team announcement like MLS used to do. But instead they chose to take the money and deal with the consequences of trying to build the stadium.

 

Tread lightly. This is what I have been saying and it seems those of us that think this way are in the minority. I think more than any other market on the planet NYC should have had to had a stadium under construction before their team was allowed to start play.

 

They decided to take the money from some of the richest folks in the world. resources, a huge stumbling block in a place like NY was taken care of. They took the deal before the new TV contract was negotiated. Not an accident...strategic. They took the deal when a pro soccer stadium guy was in charge.

I'm not defending or justifying anything. Just pointing out basic business facts that fans ignore, don't want to see, or just wave away as no big deal.....because that is easy for fans to do.

It may not work, but I get why MLS is taking this shot. Most folks with even a rudimentary understanding of business will get it....especially in a place like NY.

It may not work, but they had the balls to take the shot.

 

In three or four years, if Miami, LA and Atlanta pan out it will be a lesson learned. If not, and this is a mess...it will have been a bridge to far.

Oh boy...three more years of this in multiple forums getting rehashed over and over again!

Lions and tigers and bears oh my!

 

To address the "stadium signed and sealed" statement. I quote wholesale from Charlifiction on the r/MLS subreddit. He addresses it better than I ever could.

 

i disagree. no one is stuck in the 1820's. people from brooklyn don't say they're 'going to the city' when they hop on the subway. no one thinks the yankees or the mets are less 'city' for not being in manhattan. no one thought nycfc would build a sss in manhattan (the 'pier' thing was a lark) and no one ever said it would lessen their 'citiness' if they weren't in manhattan. the only 'serious' stadium proposal was for queens and no one thought of that location as falling short on the nyc meter. nj and westchester, however, are another story.

 

Staten Island is more "the city" than North Jersey and its arms-length view of the Manhattan skyline? Having a laugh. Let me know when the NY Giants, NY Jets, and retro NY Cosmos move to Staten Island from North Jersey.

 

For all the good growth MLS has seen under Garber, his legacy is on the line with this team.

He was the one who kept pushing a team for NY that was IN the city. He was the one that pushed them to the front of the expansion line. He was the one that allocated huge amounts of league resources to lobby politicians and explore stadium sites and entice investors for the NYC team.

NY2 is Garber's baby. And if it flops, it's a huge stain on an otherwise stellar American soccer legacy. Neither Garber nor MLS want that stain and I suspect heave, earth and a LOT of money will be moved to ensure said legacy isn't stained.

The mayor knows this. He also knows the current NYCFC owners have more money than god. They don't need subsidies. Sure, they want the tax-payers to pay up as much as they can get out of them but they aren't what is needed to keep the owners from going poor.

The stadium deal in the city will likely get done when the Mansours and the Steibrenners and maybe MLS are willing to pay more of the stadium costs. Because they now zero leverage and a mayor who doesn't have much pressure to give in from his constituents.

The ball is clearly in the 18 of the NYCFC and MLS. Pay more and a stadium will get built. And I can't imagine the Yankees and MLB being too thrilled about the stadium being a permanent home so the clock is ticking, whether they admit or not.

So Garber is going to have to use all his influence to convince the Mansours, the Steinbrenners and perhaps the other MLS owners to fork over more cash to get this deal done. His legacy depends on it.

 

Well said Sandon. It's why I say wait a few years. If these guys aren't willing to pony up by then....

....eek.

They certainly can, and will have to. Big risk...big reward...or eek.

 

Meh.

I think for 99% of the fans outside of the NYC metro area it doesn't really matter.

 

for 100% of the fans outside kc, skc doesn't matter. if you want to be that way...

 

Makes sense to me. Except that it's probably closer to 99.9%. I live in North Carolina.