Asbury Park Press
NBA team to be sold to owner who plans to move franchise
Published in the Asbury Park Press 1/22/04
By BOB CONSIDINE
STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO -- The Nets have an agreement in place to sell the team to Brooklyn developer Bruce Ratner, ending four months of bidding and, very possibly, five years of uncertainty about the team's future home and 27 years of NBA basketball in New Jersey.
Ed Stier, president of the Community Youth Organization, which owns the Nets, confirmed what two high-ranking Nets officials had revealed yesterday.
"We have decided to accept Bruce Ratner's bid to purchase the Nets," Stier said. "The contract terms have been finalized and the paperwork is being put together."
Ratner said the board of YankeeNets, the holding company of the Nets and New York Yankees, must approve the contract at a meeting this morning. The holding company is on the verge of being dissolved.
The winning bid for the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions was $300 million, double the price when the team was purchased by Lewis Katz and Raymond Chambers in 1998.
The New Jersey-based group headed by real estate developer Charles Kushner and U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., made a similar offer yesterday morning, increasing their bid of $267.5 million, with most of the cash up front.
The Nets, however, decided to go with Ratner, who seeks to erect a 19,000-seat, Frank Gehry-designed arena costing $435 million as the centerpiece of a $2.5 billion residential and office complex to be built at Flatbush and Atlantic avenues.
Reaction subdued
The reaction last night of fans at the Beacon Street Grille, Neptune, was as quiet as the cob-webbed turnstiles that led Katz to sell the team.
"There's always been a question about whether a pro team can make it in New Jersey," said Jim Volpe, 38, Eatontown. "They move the team to Brooklyn -- that pretty much puts the dagger in it."
"This is real upsetting. It's ridiculous, actually," said Jay Carchio, 23, of Point Pleasant, while watching basketball at The Ark restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach. "I feel like they betrayed us. Now New Jersey won't have a pro basketball team. Why should New York get New Jersey's team? It just doesn't seem right."
Ted Desmond, 16, said the sale comes at a bad time for Nets fans.
"The team is just getting good, having a real nice run," said Desmond, of Little Egg Harbor Township. "They have Jason Kidd and some other top players and they could make a run at the championship.
An official announcement is expected today and a press conference is possible for tomorrow. Katz is expected to remain part of Ratner's ownership group.
Kushner, a developer with headquarters in Florham Park, and Corzine had hoped to go forth with their efforts to finance a deal with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to keep the Nets in a refurbished Meadowlands arena.
The sports authority had offered up to $125 million in renovations for Continental Airlines Arena for Kushner to repay over time. And the renovated building would have been a key part of Xanadu, an ambitious entertainment, office and hotel complex that is to be built on the Meadowlands site.
"I think it's going to hurt the fans like us that drove to the Meadowlands from South Jersey all these years," said Tom Tonkovich, Point Pleasant, the general manager of Scott Motors in Lakewood and a Nets courtside season-ticket holder from 1992 to 2002. When the Nets raised the price of the season tickets by $10,000 after the 2002 season, Tonkovich did not renew.
"We decided to take the same money and put it to the BlueClaws," he said about the Lakewood Class A baseball affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. "It was more advantageous for a business like ours to keep our money local with sponsorship opportunities."
Obstacles remain
While Stier shot down the likelihood of a comeback bid from the Kushner-Corzine group, there are still major hurdles Ratner faces before his Brooklyn dreams come true.
Here are some: While NBA commissioner David Stern is not averse to having a franchise in Brooklyn, he is concerned about the embarrassment the league could face with half-empty arenas during Nets home playoff games. The New York Knicks owner-ship has protested having an-other a team in New York City and could create a groundswell of opposition among the other owners, who would vote on the sale. At least three-quarters of the owners -- 22 of 29 -- would have to approve the sale. Owners won't be able to vote on moving the team to Brook-lyn until Ratner acquires city and state approvals to build the arena, although Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a proponent of the plan. Ratner is asking for $150 million in road improve-ments. Ratner has faced opposition from Brooklyn residents who do not want to see such a pro-ject go up at the crowded inter-section. Construction would re-quire the destruction of about 150 homes.
Attendance lags
In the past two seasons, the Nets, led by Kidd, have made it to the NBA Finals. The team's on-court excellence, however, has not translated into greatly improved attendance at Conti-nental Airlines Arena. Average home attendance -- 14,158 -- ranks 28th of 29 teams in the NBA.
The Nets have bemoaned the lack of attendance this season.
Franchise player Kidd, who once said he would request a trade if the Nets moved to Brooklyn, was not available for comment before last night's game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Nets coach Byron Scott said talk of the sale has been dis-tracting and he was glad that the situation was reaching an end.
"I think we would all like some closure to it so we can all kind of just forget about that part of the season and move on," Scott said. "This affects everybody, families, kids."
NBA team to be sold to owner who plans to move franchise
Published in the Asbury Park Press 1/22/04
By BOB CONSIDINE
STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO -- The Nets have an agreement in place to sell the team to Brooklyn developer Bruce Ratner, ending four months of bidding and, very possibly, five years of uncertainty about the team's future home and 27 years of NBA basketball in New Jersey.
Ed Stier, president of the Community Youth Organization, which owns the Nets, confirmed what two high-ranking Nets officials had revealed yesterday.
"We have decided to accept Bruce Ratner's bid to purchase the Nets," Stier said. "The contract terms have been finalized and the paperwork is being put together."
Ratner said the board of YankeeNets, the holding company of the Nets and New York Yankees, must approve the contract at a meeting this morning. The holding company is on the verge of being dissolved.
The winning bid for the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions was $300 million, double the price when the team was purchased by Lewis Katz and Raymond Chambers in 1998.
The New Jersey-based group headed by real estate developer Charles Kushner and U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., made a similar offer yesterday morning, increasing their bid of $267.5 million, with most of the cash up front.
The Nets, however, decided to go with Ratner, who seeks to erect a 19,000-seat, Frank Gehry-designed arena costing $435 million as the centerpiece of a $2.5 billion residential and office complex to be built at Flatbush and Atlantic avenues.
Reaction subdued
The reaction last night of fans at the Beacon Street Grille, Neptune, was as quiet as the cob-webbed turnstiles that led Katz to sell the team.
"There's always been a question about whether a pro team can make it in New Jersey," said Jim Volpe, 38, Eatontown. "They move the team to Brooklyn -- that pretty much puts the dagger in it."
"This is real upsetting. It's ridiculous, actually," said Jay Carchio, 23, of Point Pleasant, while watching basketball at The Ark restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach. "I feel like they betrayed us. Now New Jersey won't have a pro basketball team. Why should New York get New Jersey's team? It just doesn't seem right."
Ted Desmond, 16, said the sale comes at a bad time for Nets fans.
"The team is just getting good, having a real nice run," said Desmond, of Little Egg Harbor Township. "They have Jason Kidd and some other top players and they could make a run at the championship.
An official announcement is expected today and a press conference is possible for tomorrow. Katz is expected to remain part of Ratner's ownership group.
Kushner, a developer with headquarters in Florham Park, and Corzine had hoped to go forth with their efforts to finance a deal with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to keep the Nets in a refurbished Meadowlands arena.
The sports authority had offered up to $125 million in renovations for Continental Airlines Arena for Kushner to repay over time. And the renovated building would have been a key part of Xanadu, an ambitious entertainment, office and hotel complex that is to be built on the Meadowlands site.
"I think it's going to hurt the fans like us that drove to the Meadowlands from South Jersey all these years," said Tom Tonkovich, Point Pleasant, the general manager of Scott Motors in Lakewood and a Nets courtside season-ticket holder from 1992 to 2002. When the Nets raised the price of the season tickets by $10,000 after the 2002 season, Tonkovich did not renew.
"We decided to take the same money and put it to the BlueClaws," he said about the Lakewood Class A baseball affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. "It was more advantageous for a business like ours to keep our money local with sponsorship opportunities."
Obstacles remain
While Stier shot down the likelihood of a comeback bid from the Kushner-Corzine group, there are still major hurdles Ratner faces before his Brooklyn dreams come true.
Here are some: While NBA commissioner David Stern is not averse to having a franchise in Brooklyn, he is concerned about the embarrassment the league could face with half-empty arenas during Nets home playoff games. The New York Knicks owner-ship has protested having an-other a team in New York City and could create a groundswell of opposition among the other owners, who would vote on the sale. At least three-quarters of the owners -- 22 of 29 -- would have to approve the sale. Owners won't be able to vote on moving the team to Brook-lyn until Ratner acquires city and state approvals to build the arena, although Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a proponent of the plan. Ratner is asking for $150 million in road improve-ments. Ratner has faced opposition from Brooklyn residents who do not want to see such a pro-ject go up at the crowded inter-section. Construction would re-quire the destruction of about 150 homes.
Attendance lags
In the past two seasons, the Nets, led by Kidd, have made it to the NBA Finals. The team's on-court excellence, however, has not translated into greatly improved attendance at Conti-nental Airlines Arena. Average home attendance -- 14,158 -- ranks 28th of 29 teams in the NBA.
The Nets have bemoaned the lack of attendance this season.
Franchise player Kidd, who once said he would request a trade if the Nets moved to Brooklyn, was not available for comment before last night's game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Nets coach Byron Scott said talk of the sale has been dis-tracting and he was glad that the situation was reaching an end.
"I think we would all like some closure to it so we can all kind of just forget about that part of the season and move on," Scott said. "This affects everybody, families, kids."
