I think that all of this should lead to the Nets playing in an already built, established, and most importantly, wanted arena. Half of Brooklyn doesn’t want the Atlantic Yards, and 5 miles away from IZOD is the Rock. Ratner, just learn from your mistake and move the team to Newark instead of to your failed real estate project.

could this be the most expensive arena to never be built? you know there wont be a shovel in the ground this summer. what a mess this attempted move is

One more time…

1. The Nets cannot move to the IZOD Center without paying a buyout fee to the NJSEA. This year, that fee would be $13 million. Their agreement with the NJSEA permits them to move to Brooklyn or Queens without a fee, but anywhere else, particularly the competing IZOD Center, would cost them an enormous amount of money.

2. David Stern (he’s the commissioner of the NBA) has said PUBLICLY that New Jersey has had its chance at an NBA franchise and it has failed. New Jersey IS the worst NBA franchise, in terms of aged, unimproved arena and attendance, even for NBA Finals teams. Stern said it’s over…and it should be.

3. The most likely scenario—and it is increasingly likely—is that Ratner, saddled with the worst debt load in professional sports, will sell the Nets to the highest bidder, WHEREVER they are located. His corporate parent accepted the losses because the Nets are the centerpeice of the planned $4 billion Atlantic Yards development. If that development is delayed or dead, they will want rid of the franchise. It has cost them tens of millions of dollars a year. Kansas City has a brand new arena, the Sprint Center, and locals are looking to find an NBA or NHL franchise. If you don’t think the NBA would permit the sale of a New Jersey team to KC, think again. They are pushing the Sonics to Oklahoma City, a lot smaller market after the Sonics owner couldnt get a new arena built.

The Brooklyn move isn’t as much a mess as the situation in New Jersey with the Nets. THAT’s a mess.

I hate critics! mother******s!

Bravo, Net income. Brooklyn will be great. I think Ratner holds on to the Nets as they are the key to the larger development and by then real estate will soar, especially if the move to Brooklyn works. It’s a lot better than NJ and keeps the Nets in the area. In 10 years it will be great to have two teams in NYC – assuming the Knicks become a team again.

First, the Net’s are moving from the IZOD center.

Second, the reason why the Nets are losing money is because it’s hard to get to the arena using public transportation. No one lives around the arena, unlike what it would be if the Nets were to play at the Prudential center.

Third, New York/New Jersey has too many people with money that can buy the franchise and keep it here. Anyone that would try to move it out the area would be outbid. Even Vanderbeek could buy the Nets. David Stern is powerful, but he’s from the New Jersey area. I think when he mentioned what he did, he did with the idea that it would stay in the metropolitan area, not move it to a smaller market.

I realize the Nets are moving eventually regardless, but I do want to address some misconceptions:

1) “no one lives around the Izod” – are you kidding me? have you ever been to the area? it is very densely populated, (ok so you do need to get into a car to get past the swamp)

2) “it is not easy to get to the Izod” – hmmm, it seems that 80,000 fans have no problem getting to Jets and Giants games…there are many easy routes, it is accessable from the Turnpike, the Parkway, Rt 3, and Rt17 (car is necessary)

3) “the arena is ugly” – can’t say that it is anymore, not with the Izod makeover, I’ve seen uglier arenas

so I guess what we are really saying is the Nets attendance is poor because people who don’t have a car can’t get to the games? – no, I have seen quite a few arrive by bus – and lets face NJ is very much a commuter state anyway

hate to say it but the real problem is that this area is primarily into baseball and football and the basketball fans grew up Knicks fans and their loyalty dies hard

nets daily … STOP MISREPRESENTING what david stern said … what stern said was that nj “HAD A WINDOW”, a time frame, to get the newark arena deal approved by state and/or local authorities and failed to meet that time frame … that’s all that he said … if you have stern’s QUOTE, then why don’t you use it … because you don’t have the quote, that’s why … instead, you’re trying to put your spin on it, as usual

secondly, whatever stern said two years ago, one year ago or even right now is irrelevant because stern has a long history of changing his mind … rule changes, ball changes, dress code changes, to name just a few … and because it’s the nba franchise owners and the nba board of governors that have the final say regarding virtually all league matters

thirdly, your comparison of kansas city and oklahoma city is absolutely ridiculous … o.c. has proven that it will support an nba franchise by it’s support of the
hornets last year … k.c proved that it CAN’T support an nba franchise by it’s nonsupport of the kings when they played there

fourthly, the buyout fee to the njsea can be wiped away with the stroke of a pen by governor corzine, who has already shown a VERY STRONG INTEREST in keeping the nets in nj by his own attempt to purchase the team 4 years ago

fifthly, the nets’ average attendance last year was 17,000/game, the same as the league average … despite playing in the oldest unrenovated arena in the nba, despite no mass transit and despite playing in the middle of a swamp … before you start knocking the attendance in east rutherford, you might want to take a look at the attendance of the hornets, pacers, grizzlies, hawks, bucks, timberwolves, rockets, sonics, sixers and bobcats in recent years … even the knicks, despite playing in a city that has about 20 times the population of the average nba city, couldn’t draw flies to see them play until they plopped their building on top of penn station in the late sixties … their attendance suffered again in the eighties, forcing them to spend $200 million renovating madison square garden

finally, stop comparing the swamp to newark … they are apples and oranges … the devils’ attendance is up about 8% in the rock despite massive ticket price increases and despite hockey not being an urban sport … if the nets’ attendance increased 9% over the 17,000 they averaged last year, they would sell out the rock … a 9% increase at the rock would be a slam dunk, as would a massive increase in franchise revenues from season ticket sales, club seating, luxury box sales, sponsorships and food & concession sales … and total franchise revenues, after all is said and done, is the top priority and fiduciary responsibility of both franchise owners AND david stern

excuse me … i said nets daily, i meant net income

Spartan, some answers. First, no one lives around the Izod Center. Look around the stadium. I don’t see residential areas, only a swamp and oh yeah 2 small towns in Secaucus and Rutherford nearby.

second, you can’t compare the Giants or Jets to the Nets. The football teams play 8 times a year, most on the weekend. It’s not that bad to ride to the stadium every Sunday. The Nets have 41 home games, and most are on weekdays right after work. If you work in the city, its very inconvenient to park the car at the stadium and then go to work. If you work in Jersey, it’s tiring to navigate Rt 3 and the Turnpike in the evening to get to the stadium from work, then go back home. There’s no where else to walk to after the game like bars (Stadiums in cities has that option) to make that kind of a trip worthwhile. If you take NJ Transit to work, there’s limited service to the Meadowlands from New York and from Newark. You have to take the bus from Port Authority to IZOD Center, back to New York, then to Penn Station to catch the train home. It’s too much!! At least at the Rock there’s more options, because it’s in a major city with train and bus connections to everywhere. I hope I’m making sense.

There is an Arena already built for basketball in Newark, NJ. Is it really necessary for the RAT to build an arena in Brooklyn that will cost this much money?

NY taxpayers should be up in arms about this because they will be the ones paying for it. This is so unnecessary…what a waste of money.

Ratner please sell the Nets to the Devil’s owner so he can move the team to Newark where they belong…

TJ, your first comment is exactly the type of misconception that I am trying to dispel…I know that no one lives across the street in the swamp…but within 20 miles the population is very dense…over a million people…look at any pop density map…drive off any RT 3 exit..residences line every street

re your second comment, traffic has not been bad on Rt 3 or 17 on game nights this year…it is an easy drive, compared to very heavy traffic on football Sundays

I am not arguing Izod over the Rock, for me personally, Izod is probably slightly easier to get to, but I can understand that many would find the Rock more accessable

I am just saying that as long as the Nets have to be at Izod the accessibility problems are a bit overstated…I am not convinced that everyone in NJ works in the city or that most people need to have a nearby bar available after the game esp dads bringing their kids

Exactly, Net Income. The way this is going, I see this turning into the Seattle Nets or the Oklahoma City Nets. This could end very, very badly for us.

just realized i included enough mileage to include most of Manhattan, i meant that over a million live in Passiac county and the southern part of Bergen

The Meadowlands are not easy to get to if you’re not a Nets fan. No one wants to drive an hour each way, pay the turnpike, and 12 bucks for parking. I used to live in central New Jersey, and even though I was a Nets fan, it was hard for me to get up and go to more than five games a year. I live in New York now as a season ticket holder and take the bus from the PABT. I can tell you it’s much more convenient to take mass transit, and the fact is that it’s not as easy to get to IZOD as it is to Shea, Yankee Stadium, or MSG. That’s a fact. As someone else pointed out, you can’t compare the Giants and Jets with the Nets because there just aren’t as many games. It’s much easier to get up for a two hour or whatever it is ride on a Sunday than it is to drag yourself out of work three weeknights a week.

I have had Nets season tickets for awhile and also have had Jets season tickets for awhile.

AND…TJ you are totally right. Spartan you are totally wrong.

In response to the Nets moving outside of the metropolitan area, i think that is very unlikely seeing as how there are numerous bidders interested in keeping it here (the NJ group, Chang in Long Island, and the other billionaires on wall street).

also, the mentioned buyout is pennies compared to the amount ratner and forest city is losing each year on the nets, rumored to be somewhere around $22million a year. i think the move to newark is logical, price-competitive (they have offered a very nice lease and revenue-sharing agreement) and would really create a sense of New Jersey in the sports teams since they would play in the state’s largest city and on the mass-transportation network.

NEWARK = SLAM DUNK
BROOKLYN = YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION/LEGAL WOES

The Nets can not afford to move out of the Metropolitian area. Seattle won’t even support the team it has now. What makes Stern think a new team will do that? Oklahoma City might be a possibility, but the projected income in OC compared to NYC/NJ area is nowhere close. What the Nets should of done is move to Newark. It is set right in the middle of New Jersey’s most heavily-populated city and is a short walk away from Penn Station, which, if I’m not mistaken, is connected to the Penn Station located in Manhattan. This is all Ratner’s fault and he has no one to blame but himself. The Devils OPENLY OFFERED the Rat use to the Rock, but he refused. Plus, As a Central Jerseyan, I would not make the ride to Brooklyn to see the Nets play. Newark I would probably twice as often as going to Izod. Also, by moving to Brooklyn, Ratner is basically hoping most of NYC can turn Net. Even with the Knicks doing badly, it’s going to be tough to disown their loyalty to a team thats been there since the beginning.

@ miguel

good post!! … let me add that the sonics will be moving to oklahoma city in a few years, or maybe sooner … it’s virtually a done deal

kansas city is a joke because they had the kings there a few decades ago and gave them ZERO SUPPORT … which is why the kings moved to sacramento

newark’s penn station is a 10 minute train ride from manhattan’s penn station … and a 3 block walk (soon to be an enclosed bridge over the highway) from the rock

the rock is surrounded by mass transit … nj transit buses and trains, amtrak, path, light rail, etc…

the rock is a goldmine for the devils due to huge ticket price increases, increased attendance, 80 luxury boxes (izod has only 30), extra premium/club seating, an enormous first-class restaurant, skyrocketing sponsorship, food and merchandise sales … the devils had far smaller revenues than the nets when they played in the swamp … playing in the rock the devils now have far greater revenues than the nets do

The ship be sinkin…