Gov. Corzine has to make a decision.

Brooklyn clearly is not going to happen, so Booker had to make a statement endorsing The Rock. Realistically, this doesn’t concern me, outside of political implications for the Governor. This is an election year, and Governor Corzine will be courting Newark democrats as well as swing voters in Bergen County, but Booker makes a fair point about investing in a renovation of an arena that would be funded by taxpayers when tax revenues are low. It would be irresponsible. Also, consider the debt already incurred on the current facility (Izod Center), as well as how cost-ineffective it would be for the State to renovate a State-owned facility for private interests (the Nets). In addition, Booker notes the mess that is Xanadu. Who knows when that monstrosity will open, if ever…

Newark is the only option at this point. Nassau’s not remotely possible, and MSG is booked solid (plus its’ Knicks’ territory!). Corzine’s only move is to allow the Nets to move to the Rock, without financial penalty. He has the power to authorize that, if he chooses. Otherwise, he’ll be labeled as fiscally irresponsible in a time when every dime is tough to come by. Corzine now has to figure this out without angering too many Bergen County pols, who will undoubtedly put up a fight if there were to be a Newark move.

Lastly, Booker’s also right about the State being factioned by region. A real plan has to be created to determine what will be the use for the Meadowlands in the coming years. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a plan. Meanwhile, people complain about Newark not being self-sufficient and relying on suburbanites to suppport it, yet no one is ready to help it succeed when the time comes. We need a real city in NJ, not just abandoned urban centers surrounded by sprawling suburbs. We also need a team to identify with that city. I think Newark is that city, and hopefully this will play out very soon.

Brooklyn is clearly not going to happen…

Who is that clear to? You? The rest of the people who don’t want it to happen?

Yet as NI points out every day, as Oder points out every day the project moves forward with Ratner & Co doing everything they can to make it happen.

But like you say, “clearly is not going to happen”

The was a similar article in the Record last year. It was more Bergen vs. Essex counties with some focus on the NJSEA. the regardless the message was that Nets need to stay in New Jersey.

GO BOOKER!!!!

Come on Corzine….

The reality is quite clear. The Rock is not producing the revenue needed to pay the “payments in lieu of taxes” that were supposed to flow into city coffers. Period.

Vanderbeek claims the city owes him money. The city claims Vanderbeek owes the city money. Vanderbeek told Sports Business Journal this week that his projections for season ticket sales (only 8,000 for the Devils) are 5 to 10% below what he projected for this year. His sponsorship income is down $1 million below his projections. Even the Nets were able to sell 11,000 season tickets at the IZOD before last year’s collapse.

Booker and Vanderbeek believe that for the Rock to survive as one of the area’s top venues—and for both to make money, the IZOD Center will have to close down. It’s the Rock’s big competition for the BIG money making events like concerts and family shows. The news that NJSEA has decided to hire architects to upgrade the IZOD Center means not only won’t it close down, it will get a new lease on life. That’s bad news for the Booker and Vanderbeek.

The big money to be made in the arena business is not in sports. It’s in those concerts and family oriented programs, like the circus, and the IZOD Center dominates that business in New Jersey. It’s the fourth most popular venue in the US and tenth in the WORLD for such shows. Renovations to the IZOD Center would make it an even much stronger competitor. Also, it’s long been the dream of the NJSEA to have the IZOD Center as one of the anchors of the Meadowlands, along with the Giants-Jets Stadium, Xanadu, the race track and the new train station. The cross flow of traffic should help the IZOD Center business.

This isn’t about the Nets. It’s about the IZOD Center and the Rock…and MONEY. The city, under Sharpe James, spent an obscene amount of money on the Rock, with the promise that revenues would help the city ease its financial burden. Hasn’t happened and it won’t.

As for Brooklyn, forget the Nets for a minute. There will be 240 open dates at the Barclays Center, dates where those same concerts and family shows can be booked. Not only does Jay-Z own part of the Nets. He is a partner in Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, along with at least one of his business associates. BSE will operate the Barclays Center. You think Booker and Vanderbeek are worried what kind of business the Barclays Center would do with Jay-Z etc. booking concerts and shows? You bet they are. Jay-Z, I’m sure, knows that the concerts and family shows are big money makers. He didn’t amass a $300 million fortune by being stupid. He isn’t in this for Lebron James. He’s in this for Shawn Carter.

Brooklyn Zoo,

Say no to drugs!

I would welcome either a long stay at the Meadowlands (should they make some decent parking available again) or a move to Newark. I would welcome any location where we could rightfully remain the New Jersey Nets.

It is time for Stern to finally do the right thing and make Ratner go away unless he wants to try and make his billions of dollars developing the Newark skyline.

I think Brooklyn happens. You can find flaws in their arguments and say it won’t happen – and obviously, there are numerous reasons to believe it won’t happen – but the only people who really know what’s going on are the people fully vested in making it happen. So of course they’re going to say it’s going to happen. The truth is no one here knows with certainty that it won’t get built, and arguing about it when we don’t know the facts is a waste of time.

That said, I’d move to Newark tomorrow if the Nets move to the Rock.

@ Net Income
 Everything is about the money, no one will deny that. But you can’t say what the Barclays will produce because it’s not up yet. Make that argument after it gets built. Until then everything you’ve said is speculative. The Rock may not have the ideal numbers, but they have numbers. Even the IZOD has numbers.

I’m for the IZOD renovations because it will attract events to the area, but I don’t think it’s the best for Nets anymore, due to it’s location. Despite the best efforts the Rail link to the the meadowlands is only effective for those who live in Bergen County and some folks in Upstate NY(There isn’t a direct link from the City into Meadowlands). That maybe fine for Kickoff on Sundays. But I don’t think it helps draw people who live in other parts of the state for the Nets.
  Like I’ve said in other posts The value of the Rock for NBA play, will be measured by the 2 preseason games there. Ratner, Vanderbeek, the NBA, Corey Booker, Corizne, etc. will be look to looking to make their case for or against it based on those games. Attendance, ticket sales, mass transit, parking, etc. will all be measured to see what the future might bring.
 If it fails, then NI, Brooklyn Zoo, etc. can fire away all they want

RD,

You have to take everything Net Income says on this topic with a grain of salt. The “facts” that are presented are twisted. The article where Vanderbeek is quoted is a general concern about the overall situation, but the Devils are doing well (and Vanderbeek expresses his excitement about that fact in the article). The real FACTS point out that the Devils’ attendance #s are up 11.4% since they left IZOD/ CAA. That is a fact. It is actually amazing considering that the Devils’ regular season was underway right after the market collapsed, which means they actually gained a few fans despite the economic downturn. NI twists facts, and then presents them as if he/she is right and everyone else is wrong, when the likely truth is NI works for Ratner.

I can tell you that hundreds of millions of dollars have already been invested by Ratner, his partners, Forest City Enterprises and the city and state of New York in the belief that it will happen.

I also think that you would agree that my screed had little to do with Barclays Center. It has to do with IZOD vs. the Rock. Cory Booker is a politician. His letter to Corzine is nothing more than politics and pretty transparently so.

The REALITY is that Newark is living with a corrupt idea come to fruition. The city, with its myriad problems, invested more than $300 million in the Rock and is getting very little from it. It’s not getting revenues. It’s not getting development. Sharpe James could have used that money to do a lot of other things, but chose to use it to build an arena (and then arranged for his girlfriend to get cheap city properties nearby, for which he is going to jail.)

No offense, but its bizarre how everyone holds Net Income to be the truth of everything true on this site, just because of his username. Sure if the info is there, great, but otherwise it can be viewed as just an opinion in other cases… just like everyone else…

Anyway. Brooklyn is turning into Xanadu. Just get the Nets to newark and lets move on.

@ Trenton,

I couldn’t have said it better myself…

I wholeheartedly agree. I think Net Income does a great job providing a forum for us here and gives us all things to think about in providing these links for us, but to hold him to a higher standard because of that is erroneous. He’s not here in any official capacity, and he’s a Nets fan just like the rest of us. If we can be allowed to disagree with each other, disagreeing with NI shouldn’t have to rise to any kind of personal attack regarding his credibility.

What troubles me is that this sort of misinformation that NI spreads is read by those who don’t know. So, on occasion, I feel compelled to set the record straight. NI’s posts are less than opinion; they are cleverly constructed propaganda meant to distract site visitors from the truth. I have a problem with that becuase it means NI knows the facts, yet presents them in a manner that doesn’t truly capture the whole. It seems like the work of a person with experience in Public Relations. You present what you want people to read (or see or hear) and conveniently omit anythingn that would contradict your erroneous statements.

@Morpheus

I look at it as NI presenting the other side of the argument. There are plenty of people here who already point out the myriad reasons that Brooklyn won’t happen, and kudos to them, but I don’t feel like NI needs to bring up those arguments when he’s presenting the other side. It’s like asking a defense attorney to going point by point to rebut every single argument that the prosecutor is making. No one argues like that, and NI shouldn’t be expected to. Just like everything else, to get the full picture you need to talk to more than one person. Holding NI to this standard when literally everyone else on the board doesn’t do this is more than a little unfair.

@ Morpheus
 I know what your saying. I pointed that out before, in the previous post to which everyone is referencing. I’ve seen the #‘s. My point is NI and others insist that Newark and New Jersey won’t work which I think is crap. If that’s true then when the Nets play those preseason games there the #‘s won’t be any different than when they play at the IZOD. If than happens then then all those in favor of the move can have their say. But if the #‘s better, no one can argue what Newark could support the Nets and the new jersey does care. Politicos like Booker, Corizine, and others might get more involved and put up a fight. The NBA might rethink it’s position on Jersey

Although it’s good to see the Meadowlands getting a facelift, it’s just too little too late. This should have been at least a decade ago rather than recently. The Devils left because they felt that where they were, they could barely get any huge attendance and the same probably went for the Red Bulls, who were originally the Metrostars being that they played in a stadium that was more known for the Jets and Giants. I doubt that the Xanadu was meant for the Nets anyway. The biggest problem for some getting there were those who didn’t drive and the only other alternative to getting there was by bus. I have already stated on previous entries on how people can get to the Prudential Center by transit even if they are going from New York City or Philadelphia. If moving to Newark worked for the Devils, it can work for the Nets. I won’t be surprised if the Red Bulls get better attendance figures after comming to Harrison, which shows only more that the Nets should go to Newark. I still find an irony that Net Income mentions all the business scandals done by Vanderbeek but never touches on Ratner, who actually does use taxpayer money for his projects and has a big history of doing that.

I hope this ends soon.

Stay in NJ! Thanks!

Right now the Nets fanbase in their own state is mainly in northern NJ. Moving them to Newark will give easy access to just about the entire state by both car and transit. After hearing how the southern part of NJ can get to games easily by transportation, the whole state will start liking the Nets. This is why I stated how anyone can get to the arena throught the state on previous entries with the exception of NYC and Philadelphia. Overall, moving to Newark won’t just be a plus for the current fans, it will even add fans from the south who could only see the Nets if they are playing over at the Wachovia Center against the 76ers especially with that new express line that the Atlantic City Line just launched that get them all the way to Newark-Penn Station.

I have to say that as far as the Nets and basketball goes, I love the fact that NI supports everything that makes the Nets the lottery team it is. It’s not like anyone could rip Frank and Yi directly so I just use NI as the next best thing. The best part is how he reacts when he is wrong.