Change in Tide

I recently received a letter titled "Attention New York Jets Season Ticket holders." To my disbelief I realized where the money the Jets are willing to pay for the stadium is going to come from. The letter told me that if the new stadium is built, we as ticket holders will be obligated to pay $10,000 per ticket in order to carry over our seats to the new stadium. If we choose not to pay the fee, then we choose to forfeit our seats. This completely changed my opinion about the New Sports and Convention Center.

Clearly there are many hidden costs and tricks that we as the public have yet to see. A recent report stated that half of the $800 million that the Jets organization promised to pay may be withdrawn from the bargaining table. This means that this source of cash flow is going to have to have to come from a different stream. The only way this stadium is going to be paid for is by tax revenue or a debt structure. A bond offering of at least $400 million is going to be needed.

The picture is beginning to be painted for me. For over a year I have been a firm supporter of this stadium. The recent developments have now swayed my vote to a nay. The building of this stadium is just not feasible without the support of a big time venture capitalist. If the Bloomberg team can get some type of syndicate investors together to help in paying for this stadium, maybe I will be on board. Although the New York Sports and Convention Center may sound good, when all the T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted it is clear that this stadium just doesn’t work. The stadium committee must come up with a better argument than it will help bring the 2012 Olympics to NYC. This stadium doesn’t make sense in dollar terms, or rather any terms for that matter.