Kill The Deal With The New York Giants
Now that Albany has vetoed a stadium for the Jets in Manhattan, it’s time for Acting Governor Codey to scrap the tentative deal he reached with the Giants for a new $700 million stadium in the Meadowlands. Neither the Giants nor the Jets have any place to go, as much as we wish the two New York teams would leave New Jersey. The football team’s dilemma should place New Jersey in strong negotiating position with the owners.
The deal that is currently on the table with the Giant’s owners is a losing one that should have been rejected months ago. There is a perfectly good football stadium in the Meadowlands and there is no reason for the taxpayers to swallow a deal that only benefits wealthy team owners. It’s not too late to make your thoughts known to your representatives in Trenton.
George Zoffinger, the chief executive of New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, claimed the Codey negotiated deal will cost taxpayers at least $150 million and will force his agency to operate at a deficit.
In addition, the deal calls for the NY Giants to receive control of 75 acres in the Meadowlands complex for 98 years and all revenue generated from the facilities built by the Giants on the property. New Jersey will receive $5 million a year in rent for the land and East Rutherford will receive $1.3 million a year in lieu of taxes.
New Jersey will be responsible for $124 million of debt on the existing stadium that will be demolished to make way for the new stadium. The state will also be responsible for $30 million in utility improvements to the site. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority will lose $19 million a year in revenue from the existing stadium.
The property in the Meadowlands, some of the most valuable in New Jersey, could certainly be leased or sold for far more than a paltry $6.5 million a year. Any private sector business would include the opportunity cost when calculating the total cost of a deal. Not only does the deal cost the taxpayers money, we lose a valuable asset that could be put to more productive use generating income for the state.
The other point missing from all recent accounts of the Giants deal concerns the financing for the $700 million dollar stadium. The last reference we can find was back in December. At that time, the Star-ledger had reported that the $700 million to build the new stadium would be provided through tax-exempt bonds issued by New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
Is there anything good about this deal for New Jersey? The team doesn’t even bare the name of our state – we’re even cheated out of this bit of psychic income. Kill the deal with the New York Giants.
Previous posts below:
The Opportunity Cost Of The Giant’s Stadium Deal
Giant Rip Off
We Want Our Bread, Not Circuses
The Fine Print Of The Giants Deal
Giants Stadium Was Always A Bad Deal For Taxpayers
Deal For New Giants Stadium Stalled
Democrat’s Priorities Inconsistent With Rhetoric.
NJ Taxpayers Still Owe $117 Million On Giants.Stadium
NJ Sweetens Stadium Offer To NY Giants
NY Jets - The Other NJ Football Team
Codey Eliminates “Pay To Play” For New York Giants.
NY Giants Seek New $700M Stadium In NJ
Posted by Enlighten-NewJersey @ 11:16 PM
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2 Comments:
Amen! Why do so many idiots want to pay rich sports team owners to build stadiums so the rich owner can charge them a kings ransom to Park, Watch a Game and Eat.
Great post. Well thought out and reasonable.
How much money do you think the Giants and Jets add to the community beyond rent?
Why on Earth should taxpayers subsidize stadiums any more? Those days are long gone. We've done it in the past, and the benefits to communities never materialized (at least not to the degree that spending the same money on, say, education and job training would have paid off). Benefits to the value of the franchises and athletes, of course, are a different story: Through the roof. No way a team today can cry poverty and demand a handout from the locals. The money you spend to subsidize a Yankee Stadium goes to pay Alex Rodriguez. (It's bad enough I'm OBLIGED to pay for the Yankees on Cablevision, something I haven't forgotten either. I like the team well enough, but I'd like it to be MY choice, thanks, which entrtainments I subsidize.)
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