Ratner Remains Optimistic as Deadlines Loom

I’m just so sick and tired of this.

Ratner is the worst owner in pro sports

True or not, what else is he supposed to say?
I don’t expect anything other than the company motto from Ratner (and by company I mean FCR & not the NJ Nets).
He is & will always be a real estate developer, not a real passionate sports owner.

I still hope that Ratner loses this deal. I’m sick of this corporate welfare in America.

@ kombayn,

I’ll second that. If the Rat hadn’t bought the team sold off Kenyon, Nets history would be very different. We were soooo close.

why does Ratner deserve any respect or credibility from anyone, especially Nets fans? he’s been lying to you for years.

The truth is that the opposition really has to do here is just run out the clock, which will be over in five months. If Ratner can’t get the arena started by the end of the year, he will not get the bonds making it tough to build it. At the informal hearing I went to last Thursday, it was stated that with the money that he is low on, the most likely appearance would just be the arena while the rest would be made into interim space that might either by parking or open space to who knows when it would continue. Financially, Ratner is not in good shape and even winning a lawsuit will not get him back on his feet and that was prooven in the past despite winning many of the previous ones. On a sidenote, I am hearing the fat lady getting ready to sing for Ratner to show that it’s over for him.

I agree with those who see the Brooklyn arena as not as of yet a “done deal”. It all could still fall through, but I hope it doesn’t and here’s why: If the deal falls through, then all the money THE RAT has spent on this project so far is lost. That makes him in the worst financial position ever, bad for the NETS. Also, without the prospect of moving to Brooklyn, the team is less attractive to a potential buyer/investor, again bad for the team and spending money on free agents next year, with all our cap room. With all the pluses and minuses, I still am in favor of the move to Brooklyn, because it is a chance to attract enough new fans and commercial support for the team to be financially viable long term. AND I said “a chance”, because it is NOT a slam dunk in any way. What is, however, the bottom line, is that staying at the IZOD center is never going to work out for the team financially. I guess we will know “our fate” within the next 5 months. GO NETS!

“brokeland Says:
August 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am

why does Ratner deserve any respect or credibility from anyone, especially Nets fans? he’s been lying to you for years."

There’s some fraudulent fans running around that worship the ground this piece of garbage walks on. Most NEW JERSEY Nets fans hate his guts and don’t want to see our team ripped out of the state to be used for his greedy schemes.

Pro Brooklyn Nets fans aren’t fans of the Nets, they’re really fans of corporate welfare.

I know that in a previous one about Ratner getting stimulus, someone mentioned that he should be allowed it because others are getting it and it was good under Regan. The truth about corporate welfare is that it’s a bad idea in the long run. The government will be forced to spend less on where it’s supposed to go to. As a matter of fact, everyone else, which means us, will be taxed even more just to pay for what they owe. Overall, corporate welfare was wrong then, and it’s wrong today. I am not giving my tax dollars just to help a rich man get richer. Most of the groups I have seen at major hearings defending Ratner are mostly paid by him otherwise they wouldn’t be comming there and intimidating others that can see through his plan and point out the flaws.

has this said anything basketball related during his entire tenure as the grinch who stole basketball from new jersey, or has it all been about big business thats looked rather small ever since it all began..

It is unfathomable that this sports attrocity has not garnered much attention on the national level, after 5+ years of a so-called professional team owner buying a team with the intention of taking it away from its fan base, while lying to them blatantly in the process and no results yet in sight for all his greed.

It is even more unbelievable that the “commissioner” David Stern has not stepped in at this point and directed one of his franchises (from his home state no less) to a brand new arena in the nearby vicinity that wants to welcome the team with open arms!

This is a joke already – and yet another reason the NBA has become vilified by so many sports fans. I am usually one of the people fighting passionately to defend this league but with this embarrassment that Stern has stood by and watched, it is very hard to justify doing that anymore.

Speaking of jokes, I wonder how many teams finished dead last in attendance the same year they reached the NBA finals? Should we blame Ratner for that as well?

@Isaac

I wish Stern could do something but he can’t. Despite being the commissioner, he has less control over owners than we think. It’s America and in America, free enterprise rules. Plain and simple, he can’t for the Rat to do anything. Sucks for us but that’s how it goes.

Deep down, I don’t think Stern is as much in favor of Brooklyn as we are led to believe by the media and his actual own quotes. It’s his job to do what’s in the best interest of his owners and if Brooklyn dies, Ratner needs to get the best deal he can when he sells the team. So by saying how much he thinks AY will get done, Stern is in reality just trying to keep the sale price high.

at Trueblood:
 
I understand your points but honestly this has been since the ‘80s and always will be Stern’s league until he steps down. If he had strong interest in this team remaining in his home state, this would not be happening. Our only hope is that he steers them to Newark if the Brooklyn deal eventually falls through.

@Isaac

“Our only hope is that he steers them to Newark if the Brooklyn deal eventually falls through.”-Isaac

Not this is something we can all agree on. Let’s not forget that before the Nets were put up for sale in 2003, Stern was all for the concept of a Newark arena. I bet he still likes it but since the Rat is in control, he has to suck up to AY until it finally croaks. At that point, we will see Stern go full throttle at trying to make sure that newark interests buy the Nets.

I meant “NOW this is something we can all agree on”, not NOT.

Bottom line, if AY hasn’t broken ground by December 31st, Stern will most likely push for someone from Newark to buy the team by the relocation application deadline. Even though a move to Newark from IZOD isn’t really a relocation, they have to go through the process of transferring season ticket holders to seats at the Rock and what not so they have to have a sale in place by the end of March.

December 31 is going to come and go, and we’ll still be hearing about new deadlines, and how brooklyn is the ultimate destination.

they think we are fools so they lie to us

@Trenton

That’s my greatest fear. But my thinking is this. If Ratner hasn’t broken ground, it probably means that DDDB won the appeal. If that happens, AY either dies or Ratner will be forced to make an offer to Goldstein that he can’t refuse. In that case, Goldstein will probably hold out until the 31st deadline.

Realistically, I can’t see how it would still be financially viable without the tax exempt bonds and Barclays money. I’m guessing that Barclays is the real difference maker here. If they pull their naming rights agreement, and that accounts for $400 million, there is absolutely no way this gets done regardless of the outcome of the appeal.