Friday roundup: MSG lobbies to stay put, OKC debates new Thunder arena, plus: BEES!

It’s been another week already, can you believe it? Before we get to the cavalcade of news items that didn’t make the cut for individual posts this week, it’s probably a good time for me to thank all of you who’ve generously supported this site with your hard-earned dollars to help me keep getting up at 7 am to report on this sports grift that doesn’t seem to have any intention of ending. So, thanks! And if you haven’t kicked in any coins of late and would like to, you can sign up for either a one-time donation or a small monthly payment — there are still a few cab-hailing lady art prints up for grabs!

Or just read the week’s news, that works too!

• Madison Square Garden officials say they should get a perpetual operating permit from the city of New York because moving the arena elsewhere would cost $8.5 billion. Actually, the city could just send in its Padlock Unit (a real thing!) to lock the Knicks and Rangers out until James Dolan agreed to relocate the Garden on his own dime, or at least until he agreed to start paying property taxes, neither of which is likely to happen, but it could. The operating permit expires this July 31, so expect to see a whole lot more public grandstanding over the next six months, especially if the Knicks or Rangers make a deep playoff run (neither of which is likely to happen, but it could). Mayor Eric Adams says he wants to keep the Garden where it is but plans on being a “hard negotiator” for a renewed permit (which … okay, you already see where this parenthetical is going.)
• Two competing Oklahoma City council candidates said they’re both in favor of building the Thunder a new arena (estimated cost: TBD) to replace their 21-year-old one, so long as the public gets something in return like “sales tax” or “full and thriving wages” for arena employees or “density.” (That’s in ascending order of likelihood, albeit descending levels of comprehensibility.)
• Glendale, Arizona councilmember Joyce Clark is going to town on nearby Tempe’s planned arena for the Arizona Coyotes, posting back-to-back blog posts showing that team owner Alex Meruelo’s finances are considered high-risk and estimating that tax kickbacks for the project would amount to $700 million. In present value that’s probably more like $500 million, but it’s still not chicken feed; Tempe voters go to the polls on May 16.
• Not saying that the Virginia legislature isn’t going to ever consider building a Washington Commanders stadium, but rejecting Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s request for $500,000 for “planning” a stadium proposal is a pretty good sign nothing’s going to move forward until legislators can dance on team owner Daniel Snyder’s (probably metaphorical, but either way works) grave.
• Stadium architect Ron Labinski, who helped design Arrowhead Stadium, Giants Stadium, and whatever you call the Miami Dolphins‘ stadium these days, died recently at age 85, and condolences to his family and friends. The New York Times headlining his obit with the line that he “Designed a Cozier Future for Stadiums,” though, is pretty much 100% wrong, given that one of the hallmarks of his era as a stadium architect was building more luxury suites, which have forced upper decks into the stratosphere, making stadiums decidedly less cozy.
• The bees are moving south! Run for your lives! Oh, wait, it’s just the Salt Lake Bees, and their new stadium in Daybreak is going to be “privately financed,” though the Bees owners still haven’t announced how that funding is going to work yet, maybe best to run for your lives anyway just to be on the safe side.