The site was under the weather on Friday (all better now), so instead you get the Friday Roundup, Monday Edition:
- “Sources” tell the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Oakland A’s owners “are interested in a public-private collaboration” for any new stadium in Las Vegas (or any new stadium anywhere? the Review-Journal isn’t clear, or the sources weren’t), pointing to the two most recent MLB stadiums, the Atlanta Braves‘ and Texas Rangers‘, as examples. As a reminder, the public price tag on those two projects ended up at $392 million and $500 million, respectively.
- The NBA could soon expand to 32 teams, according to “league chatter,” with NBC Sports noting that Sportsnet Central reported that Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri was first hired by now-Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke, whose brother Tod is the owner of the NHL’s expansion Seattle Kraken, and also “it’s widely believed the NBA will expand for the first time since rounding out to 30 teams in 2004 partly to recoup for losses from the pandemic,” so connect the dots, people! I mean, maybe it’ll happen, but it really does go to show how much wild speculation and outright wish fulfillment news reporters can get away with under the cover of “some people say.”
- In one of the most bizarre editor’s notes of all time, after a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter revealed that the Cleveland City Planning Commission had not notified the public in advance that it would be discussing a Cleveland Browns plan for a publicly funded $200 million waterfront park/ramp near their stadium, the paper’s editor wrote that the planning commission did so in order to protect the Plain Dealer’s own scoop about the team’s plans. “I have a bit of quandary,” wrote editor Chris Quinn. “On the one hand, I have two reporters who worked out exclusive access for our audience on a huge story — the most realistic bid ever for revamping the Cleveland lakefront — and on the other I have a reporter questioning why the city bent its public notice rules.” Quinn ends up concluding that it was wrong for the city to have kept the meeting a secret from other reporters, even if it benefited his paper, but maybe the bigger problems is news outlets seeking scoops by partnering with developers and city officials to run an article that includes no comment from the public or from other architects, city planners, or economists, because that would have tipped people off about the news? Just an idea.
- Also, here is what the Browns’ “plinth” is envisioned to look like, if you had been wondering. I am a particular fan of the artfully shaped giant holes in it that would allow parkgoers to fall to their deaths on the train tracks below!
- Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder is touring new NFL stadiums to drive up interest in a bidding war among D.C., Maryland, and Virginia for his team — wait, sorry, did I type that out loud? I meant doing due diligence for a stadium that Snyder expects to be open by 2027, or as soon as he finds someone to build it for him — damn, sorry, I keep typing the quiet stuff loud, don’t I? Sorry, this whole Monday business is throwing me off.
- Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk says he might build a new arena across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, though also he’d rather stay in suburban Kanata, but did you know the city gave a Porsche dealer a $2.6 million tax break as economic development? “He’s selling goddamn Porsches,” said Melnyk, who blew up his last plans for a new arena by suing his business partners. “Give me a break. Give me the tax break! I’m dying out here, I’ve got no fans and I’m still trying to put on a show for everyone.” Note to Melnyk: Maybe advertising that no one cares about your team is not the absolute best way to demand a tax break?
The Oakland City Council scheduled a meeting for July 20. My prediction if this gets delayed and you hear “radio silence” for a long bit of time on this issue the A’s are still interested in working things out in Oakland. If it holds firm and the vote doesn’t go their way, the negotiations begin with Vegas
There is supposed to be a study session before that July 20 Council meeting since that meeting will be crazy. They just couldn’t agree on a date for that right now.
My guess is the demands in the term sheet are way too much for the Council to approve. Community opposition will be huge. Even if the A’s cut their demands in half, it ain’t going to fly.
Bingo.
My cousins in the Oakland hills, near Piedmont, and their neighborhood are overwhelmingly against the term sheet. The opposition further down will be much fiercer.
I just got done listening to interview with the Las Vegas Review guys interviewed by a guy from the Oregonian. Sounds like the A’s may not have as much leverage as they think. Sounds like the power brokers in Vegas want to pump the brakes on any new hotel taxes
https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2021/05/are-the-oakland-as-using-portland-and-las-vegas-for-leverage.html
Good Interview
You think the guy might be a “little” biased against Vegas, being that he’s writing for an Oregon (Portland) newspaper?
Melnyk’s “I’ve got not no fans” was referring to the shutdowns.
NBA expansion talk looks mostly like media-generated BS. The league is expecting a sizable bump in their next TV deal. Seattle and Las Vegas are somewhat unpalatable because the NBA owner wouldn’t own the arena and surrounding development. Only way I can see it happening is if the league forsees cable bundles (and thus, rights fees) collapsing in the near future.
The linked article does not say that Melnyk’s statement was in reference to the Coronavirus shutdowns. If he meant that, it would be odd given that any other arena he moves to in the near future (IE: before the end of pandemic restrictions) would also face the same rules.
For the 2019-2020 season, a the last (mostly) pre-pandemic season, Ottowa was dead last in the NHL in attendance.
I actually did wonder what the plinth would look like so thanks!
And I see that the A’s are pretending to be interested in Portland today. Same as it ever was.
Personally I like the idea of covering urban expressways with peak.
St. Louis did something similar, covering the interstate between the city and Gateway Arch, but it took 50 years to make it happen.
https://archive.curbed.com/2018/6/28/17514454/st-louis-arch-gateway-park-review-alexandra-lange
Ah, Melnyk.
He does have “no fans”. I mean I am sure there are a couple, because I saw them outside the arena wearing “MELNYK OUT” t-shirts.
This is a guy who stiffed a casino on $900k in gambling debts so long that the casino actually sued him (which they never want to do… particularly with high wealth customers. It’s bad for business), and is now suing a cruise boat owner over a “horrendous” caribbean holiday in which the boat captain appears to have followed every one of their instructions on route selection.
As you noted, he sued his arena development partners (who are well respected Ottawa developers), essentially for not building him an arena that he was (according to the parners) willing to put no money at all into.
Yeah. THAT guy.
Something interesting from St Petersburg…
Tampa Bay Rays minority owners sue Sternberg, say he secretly negotiated Montreal deal
https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-petersburg/2021/05/24/tampa-bay-rays-minority-owners-say-sternberg-secretly-negotiated-montreal-deal-in-new-lawsuit/
(Via Tampa Bay Times)
(I’m guessing that if true, MLB does NOT want this to go before a jury..)
And how about this op-ed from the local area leader of Young Republicans…
Send the Rays to Canada. Tampa needs an NBA team | Column
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2021/05/24/send-the-rays-to-canada-tampa-needs-an-nba-team-column/
(Via Tampa Bay Times)
Perhaps he’s gaslighting Democrats or just didn’t get the memo about the Sonics, Kings etc..
Interesting, thank you.
Even if Sternberg did begin talking to Montreal interests in 2014, it isn’t necessarily a violation of the “no discussions” clause. That only precluded discussions about moving games scheduled to be played prior to the end of the current agreement.
He was (and is) free to talk about games post contract at any time with any one.
But I’m still pleased to see his fellow owners filing suit, of course. Perhaps their interests have been violated/compromised. I tend to agree with you that a settlement or dismissal is the most likely outcome, while a juicy court case is (sadly) probably not in the offing.
If it’s not settled and Sternberg has to give a deposition, I’m assuming the other side’s lawyers could ask him exactly what he discussed when with Bronfman since the charge that he was trying to sell a piece of the team to the Montreal group is part of their complaint. So I agree they will buy off the minority partners to prevent that.
Also, St Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman almost immediately called for Sternberg to step down (in case you were wondering how well their talks are going).
The A’s and Rays ownerships are like a limbo contest right now. “How low can you go?”