The MTA voted today on rival bids by Madison Square Garden and the New York Jets for the land on which the Jets want to build a new stadium that MSG owner Cablevision fears would create too much competition for indoor arena events. The Jets, as expected, won -- although the unanimity of the vote was a bit of a surprise. Eight of fourteen votes were needed to gain approval, twelve of those cast by appointees of Governor George Pataki and Mayor Mike Bloomberg, both strongly in favor of the stadium. Seven votes were known in advance -- one Pataki appointee was on record in favor of the Jets, another told Newsday, "There's been no indication that there's any support for the Garden's bid."
Newsday also reported that Cablevision asked the MTA to disqualify the Jets' bid because it contained contigencies, though the request was not expected to (and did not) stop the board from voting in favor of that bid. But, the Times reports, this will not stop Cablevision, which had prepared a legal challenge for the likely event, now a reality, that it lost the bid. Other hurdles remain -- legislative and budgetary approvals, and other potential lawsuits.
The MTA released details of the competing bids earlier in the week. Cablevision had the top bid, but nearly half would go directly to building a deck over the rail yards. The Jets' bid assumes the city and state will pay for the deck, leaving more money for the MTA, but after all city and state subsidies are accounted for, taxpayers will bear more of an overall cost than a benefit. The Jets' claims of generating tax revenues also came under fire as exaggerated. The Jets' bid shows that the estimated cost of building the stadium itself has grown to nearly $2 billion (formerly one years' worth of reported "net" revenue for the NHL).
MTA bid consultant Newmark, criticized for their bias toward the city's Olympics bid, advised the MTA to reject all bids for the rail yards, citing a shortfall of $300 million in market value in the current offers. The Times takes a deeper look at some of the factors that might have been weighed by the MTA beyond the financial merits of the opposing bids. No matter how you slice it and dice it, Shaun Powell of Newsday has it right -- the fans (and taxpayers) will be the ones footing the bill.
Mike Lupica of the News roasts the politicos for fixing the bid in favor of the Jets even though his math (cited as well by other reports) shows Cablevision's bid being far more beneficial to taxpayers. "This really is the way New York ran in the days of Tammany Hall," writes Lupica, "with one notable exception: Boss Tweed had more style." One more exception, Mike -- Boss Tweed had people killed. Is that what you consider "style"?
Congressman Anthony Weiner, an underdog Democratic mayoral candidate, also believes the bidding process was politically crooked and wants an investigation. Weiner is a goalie in our recreational league at Sky Rink, minding the net for a longtime rival. He has been known to wield his stick in unorthodox fashion, but rather than retaliate, we prefer to simply score against him.
As the impending MTA vote brought the stadium issue to a head, the Times took time -- lots of it -- to put it in the context of Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan's many battles, examining his relationships with Mayor Bloomberg, Jet owner Woody Johnson, and of course his father Chuck, with whom he is embroiled in a battle over the Voom satellite network, as well as his past (and in some cases ongoing) disputes with YES, Time Warner, Marv Albert, and even former Ranger GM Neil Smith. Says the Times regarding the latter:
"Former employees are reluctant to talk publicly about [Dolan], fearing retribution. In 2002, Neil Smith spoke to a sports trade magazine about his former boss. Forbes magazine reported that Mr. Dolan then withheld $150,000 owed Mr. Smith; he was paid after he testified for the Rangers in a player arbitration case."
In other Cablevision news, Chuck Dolan asked the FCC to block the company's sale of Voom assets to Echostar, vowing to raise $400 million in financing to buy it himself. Cablevision also was reported ready to enter the bidding for cable network Adelphia, going up against a joint offer by Time Warner and Comcast. Interestingly, all the participants in this cable TV auction have strong ties to the NHL -- Cablevision of course owns the Rangers, Comcast owns the Flyers, and Time Warner recently sold its majority ownership of the Thrashers while retaining a minority interest (all three broadcast their teams' games). Adelphia went bankrupt due to financial fraud that landed its owners in jail, taking down the Buffalo Sabres, the team they owned, with them, before they were rescued by Tom Golisano.
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