This link that you're spamming doesn't actually appear to lead to a story. A quick search of the nj.com site found nothing else on this. Do you have another source?
This new governor seems to be on crack. He wants to come in and just muck up and make worse, a money losing situtation in the meadowlands. By him spending 300 million more for the meadowlands instead of turning the area into a money making tax revenue area that has more than sports he is trying to maintain the status quo. This codey character has a weird agenda I dont understand it. This does suck for the MetroStars. Him coming in and just saying the Harrison deal is dead seems very premature and it really isnt up to him to decide there is a board that will decide. He is coming to try and ruffle some feathers but I dont see how he is going to get people to support his deal, considering the NJSEA is trying to get out of the sports business. This is crazy. I suggest you Metros fans start a letter campaign to his office. Telling him that you dont not support this idea as voters. Its the only way you will get to change his mind. I think Codey is just coming in with alot of hot air. He seems to be ingnorant to the wishes of the current teams. If they dont want to be there they dont have to. he cant force them. If Harrison county votes to support the bonds they can go ahead and do it. Its not up to him.
its in an article about Codey wanting a new stadium for the Giants. its there....i had a hard time finding it...but its there. this sucks.
The Star Ledger has an article written by Matthew Futterman that states that the Harrison project is dead. Hudson County does not want to "back these bonds". However, incoming governor Codey did say that the Metros could build a stadium at the Meadowlands, as long as the team paid for the entire cost of the project. The State of New Jersey would not contribute any funds to the project due to a $4 billion budget deficit. BTW, there is a link directly to this article on Metrofanatic.com
I have a hard time believing a lame duck governor who everyone knows will only be there 1 year has the ability to just walk in and change all these plans. The state of NJ wants to get out of the sports business because it is a money loser. I think this guy is blowing smoke. The real guy to ask about all of this is Dave Corzine being that it is a given he will be the next governor. I would like to hear from Harrison reps before I believe any of this.
Try: http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-18/110006871846140.xml?starledger?ntop Near the bottom.
New Link Some background for those you who've been under a rock for the past two months: Codey is McGreevey's replacement as NJ Governor, starting next week. Most political junkies think that he's here for one year only, as Senator Corzine is expected to run and win the office next November. So this is likely Codey's way of sucking up to Bergen County Democrats who fear the death of the Meadowlands and its massive tax payments to the county. Can Codey get a new Meadowlands designed and financed in one year? Not a chance in hell. Nick should be cooked in hot oil and served to wild boars.
It's been said time and again, over and over by many, many different people that the NY/NJ market is a must and for MLS to ever really become successful they need to significantly tap into this market (of course they also said they need a team from here to win MLS Cup but I think that even if the Metro had won the cup this year, next years attendance still wouldn't be much different). So at what point, after all these delays and deals falling through does AEG just say, "Screw it. We'll pay for the whole damn thing with our money?" If it's so important and think it will be so successful, then surely there comes a point where they'd put their own money where their mouth is, right?
I agree 100%. It seems he has an axe to grind with someone from Harrison. He has a 4 billion deficit but yet still wants to spend money to renovate a stadium in a money losing NJSEA authority. Just like someone cant come in and say Harrison is a done deal he cant come in and say the deal is dead. It goes both ways. He cant force the teams to go ahead and do things with Giants stadium if they dont want to. If Harrison wants to back these bonds they can do it. He doesnt have the authority to block them. This guy is a goof ball. He doesnt have anything to lose so he is going to act like a dancing fool. His plans make sense for no one. It will come out that this guy is just trying tstart trouble with someone.
Question for those in the know: Does this imply the death of the larger development along the Passaic in Harrison or just the Stadium? At the ULI Fall meeting in Manhattan last week there was a presentation that talked about the whole thing, including the stadium as if it were definitely happening. If it is in fact abandoned in favor of monkeying around with the meadowlands it would be a huge blow, not only to MLS, but to the health of Harrison and the cause of high-density, transit-oriented development. Here's hoping that the development moves forward and that we United fans can be verbally abused in the Metros stadium in Harrison in the near future.
All we have to go on is Codey's one-line statement, but the land is too valuable for the entire deal to collapse. Mixed-use retail / residential is booming in the area. If the stadium isn't built they'll likely just use the land for more townhouses.
An example of government run amuck: "Codey said. 'I've said to them, if they pay for it, they can run it.' " That's really awfully kind of you Gov. What a concept - letting the owners decide how to manage their own property. This idea could spread! What a jerk!
I may have to take a walk during lunch to the State Senate. The question is what does Codey's statement mean. Does he know the HCIA doesn't have the votes to pass the bonds, or is he saying he is personally opposed and will lobby against them. Would the HCIA want to risk angering the most powerful state official in the country (he'll be simultaneously State Senate President and Acting Governor)? This is obviously not a good development, but I don't think we know enough yet to say how bad it is. A statement from Harrison, Hudson County, the MetroStars, and/or a clarification from Codey himself would be nice.
Why is it a must that NY/NJ have an MLS team at the present time? The NFL has continued to flourish even though they've been without a team in LA for years, and I see no reason why MLS couldn't do fine if the MetroStars moved to, say, Houston or Philadelphia and NY/NJ was temporarily (5 to 10 years) without a team.
So if the Harrison deal falls through, wasn't there some thought about building out at Aqueduct? Personally I'd love to see the team in one of the boroughs (though Harrison is easy to get to from Manhattan via public transport).
One could certainly make that argument. MLS goes head-to-head with baseball and (potentially) basketball/hockey playoffs. Nothing they can do about it, it just is. And that's a battle MLS can NOT win in NY, at least not so long as the current MLB CBA works (as Bud Selig says it does) and/or the Yankees have a stadium that is structurally safe and not located in a crime-ridden area (which the South Bronx no longer is to the degree that it used to be). Jim Dolan might be the only person who cares about having the MetroStars around simply because they represent some semblance of programming for MSG Network on weekends in the summer. But IMO, the Metros need to pay for their own stadium. The Yankees, Nets, and Islanders will (each will pay more than 2/3 of the costs according to current reports), the Knicks and Rangers will (they have to because they don't owe property tax to NYC under a deal cut in the late-1980's). This is NY/NJ, we just have way too many other expenses to finance stadiums for our teams. The USTA Center can be used for tournament play for much of the spring and summer, and so pays itself off. Much moreso than any tax revenue the other stadiums can produce.