NY Times reports that the city of Newark has approved a deal with the Port Authority of NY-NJ that will allow them to circumvent the NJ state legislature for Arena funding. Apparently Newark and the P.A. have had a longstanding dispute over the rent due to the city for Newark International Airport. The settlement would provide the city with $265 million immediately, and some more later. Newark will use this money to build the arena. I'm still not sure whether tying Harrison to Newark helps us or hurts us. But Harrison is almost definitely on its own now.
This would be an interesting development. If Anschutz weren't in such a deep mess with his core businesses, this would be an opportunity. I can't believe that Anschutz currently has the appetite to do this as a private venture with minimal government support. The Harrison site, if properly developed, could be a nice mix of the stadium, residential and commercial uses all within easy commuting distance of NYC. The plan might even make sense with a tax increment financing piece. Unfortunately, the "plan" so far seems to be entirely dependent on State approved sales tax breaks and a positively absurd notion of using parking revenues to pay for the stadium. I cannot say strongly enough that parking revenue bonds are notorious losers, they are a securities fraud waiting to happen and a lawsuit annuity for lawyers. They can't support the parking facilities they build let alone so much as a hot dog stand on top of them.
Anshultz also has a ton of money put into movie theaters.... which could be incorporated into the Harrison project. So possibly Anshultz could have a whole downtown area based on his company. Stadium, movie houses, restraunts etc.... All revenue would go back into his pockets so maybe this is a good thing for us. Hopefully this will spur him on to build a corporate dream land for us.
If this were in fact the case, there would be no better solution. I just don't know that he's in a position, money and management attention, to do it at the moment. I have never been a fan of government welfare for the likes of wealthy sports franchise types. Hell, I wish the government would build me an office to work in . . . not. But if I don't get one, why should Steinbrenner, Anschutz or any of the other club boys get one on the taxpayers' dime? If government can provide the basic infrastructure, water, roads, sewer etc. with private enterprise paying its way for it (just like homeowners do) then seeing government build the infrastructure is a legit public purpose. The stadium and the rest of the development should be private. If you just ride the PATH as I have for more than 20 years now, you know that whole site has tons of potential.
I read this same thing. While it allows James to ask for less, he still has to ask the state for some money for building the arena. And the PA amount wouldn't cover any of the infrastructure costs, which will be several hundred million dollars. If James didn't have to go to the state for a dime, at this point it would likely help Harrison because it renders moot the biggest political hot potato. But since the Newark deal still needs state money, I don't think that the actual dollar amount requested makes a difference. What was really interesting about the article to me was that YN are no longer lobbying for Newark, Chambers wants to sell his YN stake, and it's possible that James could get the arena built but have nobody to play in it because the teams left NJ.
If the Arena starts being built, the Devils and Nets will move there, as they have no alternatives now. If it is still delayed, then maybe they will. Ray Chambers may decide not to sell once construction begins.
For those counting St. Phil down and out - a couple of items. First, he's well diversified out of Qwest. 2nd, Qwest is selling its phone book business for 7 billion smackers in cash. Cash. They have a massive burn rate, but this will keep them afloat for several years . . . and people are not about to stop using the phone depressed as the industry may be right now.
He's also one of the executives on the cover of I believe Fortune magazine. Its about executives who sold large amounts of shares while the company stock tumbled. I believe he sold 1.5 billion dollars worth of shares. I wouldn't worry too much about his finances.
OK. I thought I was following this fairly closely. The way I remember it, every time the Harrison deal was close to getting through the NJ legislature, the Newark stadium would get tagged on and the whole deal would be killed. Now you're telling me that the one thing that kept undermining the deal is going to be done without needing State approval. Which means the next time the Harrison deal gets seriously considered, no-one will be tagging on anything to bloat it beyond acceptible. Unless I've completely gotten lost in all this, this sounds like some of the best news y'all have had in years.
Possibly. The State Legislature may still have to be involved somehow, which would likely mean the Arena and Harrison are still tied together, albeit with a much smaller price tag. Should be a good development, but you never know for sure. This still does nothing for the Meadowlands, which means the main oppopnents are still going to oppose it if they can.
I'll be delighted if and when the Metros have a home to call their own, and I also like the idea of the Newark Arena (as long as my property taxes don't shoot through the roof), but it seems so fishy to me that with his back against the wall, James was able to find this money. I really don't understand the whole deal but has he robbed Peter to pay Paul? Why would the PA be so willing to fork over so much cash? Can anyone explain this?