A glacier in Antarctica just lost a chunk of ice bigger than Seattle twice the size of Washington, D.C. nearly the size of Atlanta almost as big as Las Vegas a third the size of Dublin, maybe it’s time to quit driving an SUV? Or maybe it’s just time to focus on some more human-scale disasters that involve small groups of people enriching themselves to the detriment of humanity:
- The Santa Clara city council voted unanimously to remove the San Francisco 49ers as managers of their stadium for both NFL and non-NFL events, on the grounds that the team owners were siphoning off lease payments that could have gone to the city. The vote is “just symbolic,” however, as the fate of the stadium’s management is already tied up in litigation ever since the council voted to remove the 49ers owners as managers for non-NFL events last year, so we’re not going to see the team forced to negotiate a lease to play home games just yet.
- The Richmond city council has killed the city’s $1.5 billion arena district plan dead, only maybe not completely dead given that everyone is just going back to the drawing board to concoct a new deal. The old plan to sink $300 million in tax money into an arena appears dead, though, so that’s something.
- The New York Mets have completed $57 million in upgrades to their Florida facility, almost all of it public money, with one of the highlights being a lavish clubhouse that only big-leaguers will be allowed to use during spring training, not minor-leaguers during the regular season, “to give minor leaguers a reminder of the status they’re working to earn.” As Marc Normandin notes in his subscription-only newsletter, “Apparently, the horrific wages, forcing players to pay for their own equipment, not paying them during spring training at all, and having five roommates who all sleep on air mattresses in a small apartment wasn’t enough motivation to be treated more like a person.” Plus the sandwiches and not even being allowed to bring your own lunch! The major-league Mets, though, they get comfy sofas at taxpayer expense, because that’s how American capitalism is meant to be.
- Washington NFL owner and full-time supervillain Dan Snyder is apparently using the promise of a new stadium in either Maryland or Virginia to press those states to legalize sports gambling, which sounds reasonable until you remember that whichever state wins the stadium likely “wins” a huge public subsidy tab as well. Maybe Snyder should threaten that he won’t go away unless the state legalizes sports gambling?
- Louisville is considering a 10% ticket tax on events at the KFC Yum Center plus a 0.25% restaurant tax surcharge in the entire city, all to pay off the arena’s massive debt load now that the plan to pay for it with a tax increment financing district was such a complete disaster. Friends don’t let friends pay for things with TIFs!
- Next Tuesday’s planned groundbreaking for a planned Palm Springs arena — set to be the home of a new minor-league hockey team — was unexpectedly postponed this week, with no explanation. Nobody from either the the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, whose land the arena will be built on, or Oak View Group, which is building it, is commenting at all, so feel free to read the tea leaves however you want.
- The Vegas Golden Knights‘ new minor-league affiliate that the team moved from San Antonio will play in the 17-year-old Orleans Arena until a new arena can be built, because who plays willingly in a 17-year-old arena, my god, what will the neighbors think?
- Six months to go before the Tokyo Olympics, time for the ceremonial sweeping of the homeless out of sight of cameras!
- If that news item about the state of New Jersey paying $20 million a year to NBC to shoot a TV show in the vacant Meadowlands Arena got you wondering how much you the taxpayers spent to subsidize this year’s Oscar-nominated movies, Kasia Tarczynska of Good Jobs First has you covered. If I and my fellow New Yorkers helped pay $9.9 million toward The Joker, shouldn’t we at least get, I dunno, free Netflix?
Interesting concept to have the top affiliate to your NHL team literally down the street. Is this hockey for the locals that can’t afford the exorbitant NHL prices for the Knights?
Too bad San Antonio is losing their team. I enjoyed the rivalry in years past between my now-relocated Houston Aeros and the San Antonio IHL/AHL teams.
I would not worry too much, as the Coyotes and Roadrunners will BOTH likely relocate to the Houston area. (WINK)
Yotes to H-Town, Runners to SA. But wait. Aren’t the Coyotes averaging over 14K per ESPN? That’s an improvement over the past few years.
It is up only 3% or 531 more tickets sold from last year, despite the organization pronouncing ticket sales spiked 600% when they signed Phil Kessel.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nhl/coyotes/2019/07/10/arizona-coyotes-have-prioritized-winning-over-new-arena/1684873001/
But we all know how these types of figures are suspect, from reading the many excellent articles by Neil deMause.
The San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the Barracuda, literally play in the same arena as the Sharks. And they’ll be moving to an expanded public ice center just a couple miles to the south.
Kind of weird Vegas didn’t do the “AHL sharing the NHL parent’s arena” jive considering there are probably enough tourists to support both teams in the same arena.
RIP to the Chicago Wolves unless they can get another affiliation I guess.
Also meh…..Mets….they gonna met….
MGM and AEG own the arena where the Knights play and it is used A LOT.
I doubt the AHL team could get decent dates or a decent deal, where at Orleans they obviously feel they have a better shot at both.
Not surprising at all.
The Mets’ minor leaguers also got a new clubhouse: https://twitter.com/AnthonyDiComo/status/1226951233824600064
The reporting on that seems to be pretty bad honestly since I’ve seen now multiple places saying how awful the Mets are treating their A-ball players with no mention of this other new clubhouse.
I think “major leaguers get sofas, minor leaguers get folding chairs” is about as pithy a description of 2020 baseball, and 2020 America, as there can be.
The exact same folding chairs are in front of the lockers in the major league clubhouse.
I think the better story, at least as far as this site is concerned, is that the Mets were given enough public money to build two new clubhouses.
Kinda reminds me of Jim Bouton in Ball Four after being demoted to Vancouver: ‘In the majors, meal money is $15 per day. In the minors it’s $7.50. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to eat half as much or half as well.’
San Jose Sharks AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda play their home games at the SAP Center (Seriously? KFC Yum! Center! What a ridiculous name to give to a sports arena. Oh! Never mind), home to the Sharks as well. Until the Barracuda’s new 4,200 seat arena is built in 2022. In San Jose! Next to the SAP Center!
It’s not next to SAP center. It’s 2 and a half miles southeast, near SJSU’s Spartan Stadium and the SJ Giants’ Municipal Stadium.
Thank you.
I stand corrected.
I don’t make it much to San Jose since grandma passed 4 years ago.
An iceberg. The size of the state of Delaware. What can a little frozen water do? I mean. Seriously! We’re talking Delaware here. Not insult intended Delaware. 1982 square miles. 49th smallest state, in terms of area, in the US. It’s not as if we’re talking about the size of the state of Texas.
https://youtu.be/3mHXn6LwQV0
Also, Ice melts. And it is summer in Antarctica.
Here comes the science!
You get that “summer in Antarctica” has never been like Palm Springs, right?
Yes I do, Jason. But it doesn’t have to be Palm Springs. All it has to do is get up into the 40s or low 50s for an afternoon high.
And besides that, the sun is beating down on parts of the area 24/7 right now, though that will change on March 19th when Fall arrives. Regardless, the interior headed to the South Pole never tends to get above zero freezing, even in summer.
Awesome!
By any chance are you a real estate agent?
Retired now. Too hot here during the summer months.
Looking for a cooler clim, and to get the hell away from this country for 6 months out of the year (this whole capitalist / corporate / consumerism / consumption / throw away nation is getting to much for me).
Do you know if there are any plans to construct condos or senior housing on this Delaberg? Preferably with a small carbon footprint. Walkable (even if the daily walk is 3 – 4 times around the same city block) to the nearest needs, drug store, food, groceries, a clothing store or restaurant might also be nice (neither need be anything fancy). Something that doesn’t require a vehicle anymore.
On behalf of all the nations of the world commercial ships and fishing vessels, “Whew!”
So does this mean the St Louis Blues who had an affiliation with San Antonio will reestablish their affiliation with the Chicago Wolves? Stupid of Vegas to end their affiliation with the Wolves. I believe Vegas had a 3 or 4-year agreement with the Wolves and this is I believe the 3rd year. What Las Vegas the city and area will find out shortly is the oversaturation of sports will end up hurting all teams that play in that metropolis. The same thing has happened in the Phoenix, AZ area with the Coyotes.
Does a ten percent ticket tax on an arena with no anchor tenant actually raise any meaningful revenue?
The events calendar shows 4 college basketball games over the remainder of the month and something called the millennium tour as the only events.
Ok, so the men’s team will bring in a reasonable number of fans. But they are only playing Syracuse on the 19th and NC on the 22nd.
For March, the Cardinals are playing VT on the 1st. Then the Lumineers world tour arrives on the 10th and monster trucks on 14th.
It seems unlikely this ticket tax will raise more than $1m over the next 12 months, doesn’t it?
Maybe Louisville knows that it will become an NBA city in 2020. For example, Glen Taylor has a deal to renovate the Yum! Center and sign a 15 year lease for the Timberwolves to become the Louisville Wolves.
Better yet Kentucky Colonels.
To this day, I still think Utah = Jazz? No. Just sounds wrong (not for New Orleans). Utah = Stars!