January 07, 2009
NYC relinquishes suite, issues stadium finance tome
After getting slammed for trading parking and ad revenue at the New York Yankees' new stadium for a luxury suite for city officials, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday announced he'd be trading back. No, the city won't get its 250 parking spaces back, but it will get whatever cash the Yanks make from leasing out the suite, less "marketing expenses" - and I'm sure the Yankees will be honest about deducting those.
Meanwhile, in what should have been even bigger news, the city Industrial Development Agency released its paperwork for the $342 million in additional tax-free bonds it will vote on giving the Yanks and Mets next week - except that nowhere in its 116 pages does it actually discuss the costs and benefits of the new bonds, which makes the documents as worthless as the bits they're PDFed on. (Though it's always fun seeing how much the Yankees plan to spend on "bathroom upgrades" to bathrooms that haven't even been built yet.) This should be a fun hearing next Thursday - 10 am, 110 William Street, for anyone in the NYC area who feels like stopping by.
Neil, I have not seen any coverage of next Thursday's IDA hearing in any of the major newspapers (no offense to the VV). I would think that outrage would be at an all time high over, yet not much is being reported.
Do you think the IDA is going to rubber this request?
How bold are the Yanks and Mets to even request this in light of the existing evidence that they stole the first round of tax-free bonds?
I'd be pretty stunned if the IDA doesn't approve the bonds. It's their proposal, after all. But we'll see how much flak they get at the hearing.
As for your other question, I think it's clear by now that the primary job requirement to be a sports team owner is a surfeit of chutzpah.
Posted by Neil on January 7, 2009 01:47 PM
