It’s Friday again! And, really, that’s all I’ve got by way of introduction this week, but there is plenty of news:
- Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally tells The Tennessean that Gov. Bill Lee is expected to put state funding for a Titans stadium in his upcoming state budget. No word on how much money, or where the state would take the money from, or how much the stadium would cost, but certainly all that will be addressed well before the budget is voted on by the end of April, no governor would ever try to avoid public disclosure of something like that.
- The Washington Post editorial board says Virginia giving Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder a ton of public money for a stadium is a lousy idea, and sports economist J.C. Bradbury concurs in an op-ed, only with more math. Also talks between the Virginia house and senate over a compromise bill have reportedly stalled, so maybe somebody in the Virginia legislature is actually reading the Washington Post? Or is just waiting for all the ruckus to die down so they can pass a final bill quietly, that’s always possible too.
- Tennessee state Sen. Todd Gardenhire has recommended against his own bill to have the state kick back sales taxes to help pay for a new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium as part of a total public expense of … honestly, I can’t make head or tail of exactly what’s going on here, other than that Gardenhire is unhappy with something about the funding proposal and is seeking … something else? But then, state Rep. Greg Vital told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, “I’m not quite sure what we’re being asked to fund, who owns what, who’s going to own what,” so at least we’re all in blissful ignorance together!
- Three Oklahoma City University economists looked at the economic impact of the Thunder on the city, and found that it’s somewhere between “nothing measurable” and “something, but not nearly enough to cover what we spent to get and keep the Thunder.” “These things just don’t pan out as economic growth centers,” says Emeritus Professor of Economics Johnathan Wilner, who is followed in the article by a Norman, Oklahoma official saying the University of Oklahoma needs a new arena because “we’re the third-largest city in the state, and it’s time we started acting like one.” He said she said journalism is just the best, isn’t it?
- The Guardian has a long recap of the Arizona Coyotes arena saga, and The Athletic has a long lookahead on the future of the Arizona Coyotes arena saga, of which I mostly read the takeaway quote “Every other team in the league will be laughing when they visit us,” so there’s probably some good schadenfreude fodder in there for anyone with the time and patience to sit through a couple of deep dives.
- Live 24-hour webcam of the reconstruction work being done on the Baltimore Arena! So far it looks like nothing is going on — make your own jokes about that being how the Baltimore Arena always looks — but I promise to alert you if they begin installation of the Top Sail Wine Bar.
Most have been laughing at this Coyotes team since 1996.
At last the Coyotes have found an arena that will actually hold their entire mythical “fan base.” But now the visiting team’s fans will have to fight for tickets.
I smell a ticket auction and a bidding war!!!!!
I have quoted the original Coyotes owners Burke and Ellman several times when referencing the financial situation of the team… but it does bear repeating.
When Burke finally sold his interest in the team (I believe in 2003 before the new arena was finished) he told reporters he would have lost less money keeping the team in Winnipeg. Where under Shenkarow they were losing some $20m a year in 1996.
And he was right about that.
The numbers just got worse from there.
The Guardian article is lengthy. Turner generally does a good job, but there were some glaring errors:
The team did not ’emerge from bankruptcy and relocate to Glendale’. They were there in the new arena FIVE full years before Moyes put them into Chapter 11.
Moyes may have complained about the sight lines at America West Arena, but that would be odd given that he didn’t become principal owner of the club until well after they had moved to the new arena in Glendale (the article linked in Turner’s piece that is supposed to show Moyes making that comment does not, in fact, do so). He was a minority share owner who essentially assumed control of the club in the fall out of a failed real estate deal with his then partner, Ellman.
Whether AEG was brought in “to play hardball with the Coyotes” is uncertain. The city did not want to continue paying the Coyotes (significantly over market rate) to manage the arena. AEG put in a better bid and was awarded the management contract. It can certainly also be argued that by that time the Coyotes were just an unwelcome tenant and the city had hired an arena manager to do the job whether the Coyotes were a tenant or not… and it does seem clear that both the city and AEG believe that the team was a drag on the facility rather than an anchor tenant.
Nice to see any major news organization take an interest in exposing sports cartels and their carpetbagger owners for what they are, but I would have expected fewer errors in an article of that depth.
There’s a reason the paper has long been known as the Grauniad. They do some great work, but attention to detail has never been their claim to fame.