Continental Arena is no longer in left field

Good luck on the stadium guy's,i'm pulling for you.

 

From a factual perspective, the article is dead-on. From a news analysis & predictions perspective, it's complete rubbish.

Yes, the NJSEA is expecting back development plans for the Meadowlands on 9/16. Yes, Zoffinger is going to make recommendations on which plans are the best. Yes, the Newark arena and Harrison stadium S&E district legislation probably won't pass without those plans. We knew all of this before today.

But beyond that, there is zero chance that they're going to build a new arena in Bergen County. ZERO. It's not even worth considering. Contrary to the article YN does have other local options for both the Nets and Devils (New Haven Coliseum and Hartford CC among them), and they will never ever ever foot the bill for an arena in a location that doesn't attract fans now. Meanwhile, nobody from either party outside of Bergen County will vote for public funding for an arena there. The Democrats will be angry about the Newark snub, and the Republicans would look like hypocrites.

The future of the Meadowlands is mixed-use development with offices, retail and maybe residential. There is no future for the CAA.

 

The New Haven Coliseum is toast, per an announcement a couple weeks ago. There are probably ice rinks in Grozny in better shape than that old place.

 

I played one year in New Haven and have come to be good friends with some people who have ties into the New Haven Col. and it's all but gone. The plans are to scrap the whole place and turn the area into a redeveloped downtown center with shops, malls, etc...

As for the mighty mall in Hartford...it too sadly is on a list for the burial ground. Hartford city officials have been proposing a new river walk area that would include a new arena or stadium but all intentions have been towards placing the Wolf Pack there as permamnent residents or possibly landing an exspansion NHL team.

The Devils however have quietly been in talks with moving themselves to Toronto as a second team , along with the Leafs. Which could be a huge possibility if the Newark/Meadowlands situation stays in the same shape it's in now, a few months down the road.

 

OK, so New Haven is out, even as a temporary facility. But, if Hartford has a new arena on tap, YN would gladly put up with the CC for a few years while the new place is built. And I wouldn't be concerned about the Wolfpack -- who'd you rather have, an NHL team with two Stanley Cups, or an AHL affiliate?

I assume the deal would be for the Devils to play in the old beloved Maple Leaf Gardens (renamed to something less partisan, perhaps), while the Leafs stay in the big-money ACC? That would be interesting, but it means that YN loses one of its local TV draws.

With all of that said, I wonder if YN would consider buying the Knicks and Rangers. With Cablevision hemhorraging money on their digital cable systems, they might entertain offers.

 

well, the WolfPack has done as well in the AHL as the Devils have in the NHL, and the Pack have gotten a good following up in Hartford.....

What about the Nets moving back to Uniondale or even Hartford???

 

The New Haven Colisuem will be around for at least two more years:

http://www.nhcoliseum.com/ncaarelease.htm

 

Are you aware that the YES Network (owned by YankeeNets) and Cablevision are involved in an extremely contentious legal dispute at the moment?

Don't expect any rational business dealings between these two in the near future. Perhaps ever. Enmity is a good descriptive word.

 

Yes.

The Dolans and Steinbrenner are feuding, but they are still businessmen. Cablevision is suffering badly lately, especially since neither of their teams made the playoffs this past season (yippee) and The Wiz is losing tons of cash. If both sides saw it as a good deal, it could end the logjam over YES and Cablevision in a way that lets both sides look good.

All of this makes sense only if the Newark arena is not built:

-- Because of NHL and NBA ownership rules YN would have sell the Nets or Devils or both in order to pick up the Knicks and/or Rangers. This could go in any direction, but for argument's sake let's say that they decide to target the Rangers for purchase and keep the Nets.
-- YN sell Devils; Devils move out of region.
-- YN purchase Rangers from Cablevision, with it written into the deal that (1) Cablevision has to release the Rangers from their MSG deal, and (2) Cablevision has to carry YES for X # of years but with no carriage fees. (Others like Time Warner Cable and Directv are paying $1.50 per sub.)
-- YN move Rangers' TV to YES Network.
-- YN move Nets' home back to Nassau.

Hence, YN get their third local team to fill out their programming (and don't have to wait until 2005 or whenever the Devils deal ends with FSNY, thus justifying some of the add'l cost of the Rangers purchase vs. revenue from the Devils sale), Cablevision gets some much-needed cash, and the Dolans can say that they didn't take on the added cable cost of YES. Everybody smiles like they won.

 

That deal fell through ages ago....the article is from Feb..... also that frozen fur tournament was going to be hinged on the fact that they actually landed a nationally televised deal through CNN/SI.... CNN/SI is now defunct , sadly just like the NH Coliseum and the Frozen Four.... I think the Frozen four is going to be held in Bridgeport where the Islanders house their AHL minor league team.... it's a sweet new arena.... also Danbury has been going into the motions for a new arena as well.