Can you believe we got through almost an entire week without talking about the Oakland A’s and their planned Las Vegas stadium and its path through the Nevada legislature? I already miss that crazy cast of characters: For-the-Record Jeremy Aguero, the relentless tweeters of the Nevada Independent, the blue recess screen. Yes, they botched the ending, but we’ll always have the memories.
And we’ll always have the future, where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives. Which will be the next stadium drama to become a breakout hit? You make the call:
- Josh Harris and his friends will get a potential half-billion-dollar tax writeoff for their $6 billion purchase of the Washington Commanders, and while I don’t totally understand Mike Ozanian’s explanation of how it will work — something about amortizing part of the purchase price as being for “intangible assets” — I hope it has something to do with the Bill Veeck depreciation dodge, because that’s a great story worth revisiting.
- San Francisco Mayor London Breed, in the middle of answering a question of whether her city is in the midst of an urban “doom loop” (spoiler: it’s not) by saying, “we could even tear down the whole [Westfield Mall] and build a whole new soccer stadium,” which is an interesting idea not least because San Francisco doesn’t have a soccer team in need of a stadium (it has the lower-division San Francisco F.C., but its owners haven’t been pushing for a new home), while nearby San Jose already does. Mayor Breed, I have some followup questions, oh crap, she’s gone already.
- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman “provided an update” on the Arizona Coyotes’ arena situation yesterday, and it is: “They’re in the process of exploring the alternatives that they have in the Greater Phoenix Area.” Does it actually count as an update when you’re just saying the same thing everyone already knew? Discuss.
- Time magazine asked MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about why a Las Vegas A’s stadium should get public financing, and the faux-pas-missioner replied, “I have read obviously peoples’ arguments about public financing. There’s an equal number of scholars on the opposite side of that issue,” which, I’m sorry, what? Is this one of those dark matter things, where there are thousands of economists who think that public stadium funding is a good idea, they’re just invisible? Mr. Manfred, I have some followup — oh crap.
- Nashville journalist Justin Hayes unearthed some emails between the Nashville mayor’s office and the Tennessean over the paper’s coverage of the Titans stadium deal, and they’re a gold mine of showing how the media sausages are made: My favorite bit is where the mayor’s communications chief asks for “two half sentences” to be inserted into an article to counter “the vocal echo-chamber of folks who are reflexively negative,” which it’s fair to say he eventually got and then some.
- Construction has stopped on Pawtucket’s half-finished Rhode Island F.C. soccer stadium after developers ran out of money, and one can only hope that the city will be left with a ruin half as impressive as Valencia’s.
- More on U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee’s proposed Moneyball Act, which would apparently require any baseball team that moves more than 25 miles to pay its former host city and state “not less than the State, local and or Tribal tax revenue levied in the ten years prior to the date of relocation,” or else baseball would lose its antitrust exemption. That’s a kind of arbitrary and vaguely defined price to hold over MLB’s head, but arbitrary and vaguely defined is probably good enough for government work that is never, ever going to pass anyway.
- If you’re really jonesing to hear me go on and on about the A’s again, check out my appearance yesterday on KPFA, which should ease your withdrawal symptoms. I did not provide any updates, but we did cover a lot of ground, including the enduring question of what John Fisher is thinking spending $1 billion to move his team to what would be MLB’s smallest stadium in its smallest TV market.
The Coyotes have been ‘exploring’ since their arrival in Arizona, and still have not struck arena gold.
This franchise is relocating.
“Intangible assets,” so that’s how the Chicago Blackhawks could claim a $22 million loss despite selling out every game, in the NHL’s largest arena, in a championship season, in the league’s largest unshared market. Good accountants beat good forecheckers every time.
“Under generally accepted accounting principles, I can turn a $4 million profit into a $2 million loss and get every national accounting firm to agree with me.” —Blue Jays President Paul Beeston, 1979
I know women’s sports is invisible to many commentators (and I’m sorry you are among them this time) but I believe Mayor Breed was talking about Bay FC, which is about to join the NWSL.
This doesn’t make this particular use of the Westfield property any more sensible, but bears mentioning.
I was going to mention Bay FC, but you beat me to it. I went to the launch event, and it had the San Jose mayor, and representatives of SF and Oakland, each saying the team should play in their city.
I’d like them to play in SF, but I don’t see where; the Earthquakes’ stadium is the most likely
Ah, okay, that makes more sense. Except that using a prime SoMa property for a stadium for an NWSL team doesn’t really make sense, but it makes more sense than USL Junior or whatever that league is called these days.
“Jerry, all these big companies, they write-off everything.”
“You don’t even know what a write-off is.”
“Do you?”
“No. I don’t.”
“But they do, and they are the ones writing it off.”
Breed must be joking…
It’s not just a prime SoMa property, it’s actually ON Market Street with a landmarked facade of the Emporium Department Store. The mall basement has a direct entrance to BART/Muni.
A soccer field in that location would be the worst reuse since MSG was plopped a top Penn Station in the 60s.
Maybe she doesn’t actually know what a soccer stadium is and just heard about it at a mayors’ conference.
I don think it’ll happen. She was just spit-balling, and the building is going to be in a foreclosure auction, and the desire and money for a stadium there is non-existent
This is what Bettman told Eliotte Friedman about Arizona. The interesting bit is “mid-season.”
“By mid-season, we should have a pretty good handle on what their situation is,” Bettman said. “And if we need to explore further options at that time, we’ll consult with (team) management and figure out what to do. Obviously, playing at Mullett (Arena) has to be a temporary solution, and there needs to be a permanent solution on the horizon.”
He says he is optimistic. Are there any discussions with Mat Ishbia, new owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, on any kind of joint project? (Hint: there are several across the NHL hoping for this.)
“No discussions I’m aware of,” Bettman replied.
I think Bettman’s remarks are ominous, as he typically stresses the importance of the Arizona market to the NHL.
However, there was not a mention of anything like that in his latest remarks.
It seems the implication were more in the direction of the Coyotes moving.
Although Atlanta failed twice, it has to be a better market than Phoenix. Hockey failed in Atlanta for 19 years, Arizona has been a 27 year failure. Although the Gas South Arena isn’t “NHL standard”, it is 3 times the size of Mullett and in a better location for hockey fans than Downtown Atlanta. If the Gas South Arena can be filled, then a new arena along Georgia 400 could be a possibility. Attendance in Arizona has always been heavily supported by opponents fans, a geometric increase in the Coyotes fanbase would be required for the Coyotes to succeed in Arizona, and the East Valley will only slightly increase Coyotes fanbase Attendance. As far as TV is concerned, Phoenix, Houston and Atlanta may all be top 10 TV markets, but their potential for generating strong ratings for hockey is nonexistent. Centre Videotron and First Ontario Centre are waiting.
Metro Atlanta is one-third Black, one-sixth Spanish speaking, plus the South Asian community makes the region majority non-White. You can’t sell a cold-weather sport in the Deep South using those demographics.
BTW, Phoenix is just outside the top 10 as far as TV markets go.
That’s just f#cking racist.
Tell that to the owners of the Calgary Flames or the Winnipeg Jets.
As the saying goes, it’ll never fit if you force it.
Both Toronto and Vancouver are majority non-white and the teams do well. Atlanta not only has the NFL but also college sports are a religion in the south but non-existent in Canada.
If and when a team moves to “Atlanta,” it won’t actually be in Atlanta. It will be in the suburbs, like the Braves.
The current push is for a place in Forsyth County, the richest county in Georgia.
The fact is we don’t know what kind of NHL market Houston could be.
The history of the Aeros (in more than one league) was mixed, but considering the product on offer at the time the support was reasonable.
It’s a major centre even accounting for it’s less than ideal for hockey demographics (which I don’t think are as big an issue as is suggested). The NHL will want to be there. If they have to do so via expansion or relocating (and engineering a sale of) an existing franchise, so be it.
It won’t happen tomorrow, and it might not be the Coyotes (if there’s somewhere better for them to move in the short term… which I’m not sure there is), but at some point they will stop avoiding the 8th largest Neilsen market in the nation.
Sigh. There are just too many teams.
If you are in the business of selling them there can never be “too many teams”.
Even for ponzi schemes masquerading as sports leagues… you just can’t be the one holding the parcel when the music stops.
Tight fit for a stadium but they could squeeze one in, I suppose. A better question would be should they build a stadium on one of the few spots in the city where a high rise would be allowed considering their housing issues and limited space.