breaking-stadium-news

Pricey Yankee Stadium parking garages hardly used and owner heading for default on $237 million ...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:04:25 +0100

Would YOU pay $48 to park your car at Yankee Stadium???? Well neither would the Yankee Fans attending games, leaving the stadium in a big loss with parking!

THE FIRM that built and manages the new Yankee Stadium parking garages can’t repay $237 million in tax-exempt bonds the Bloomberg administration arranged for it four years ago, new financial records show.

Bronx Parking Development Company LLC is running perilously low on cash reserves and faces a looming default by the end of the year, according to a report filed Friday by a trustee for the firm’s bondholders.

Time is running out, in other words, to avoid one of the biggest failures in decades of bonds issued by a New York City agency.

The simple fact is that Bloomberg and his aides made a costly mistake when they succumbed back in 2005 to the Yankees’ demand for a 9,000-space garage system. It was all part of the deal for the team to build a new stadium in the Bronx.

But Yankees fans have shunned the garages, where gameday self-parking rates soared last year to $35 — up from $23 previously and more than double the original $14 charge. Valet parking now goes for $48.

So many fans are staying away, in part due to the lure of cheaper local competition, that Bronx Parking Development now projects only 3,500 paying customers per game for the upcoming season.

And that occupancy rate — a measly 38% — will exist only on days when the Bronx Bombers take the field. For the rest of the year, the garages will remain a ghost town, since a mere 70 South Bronx residents currently park there each day.

At the same time, Bronx Parking Development has turned into a giant tax deadbeat. The firm, which is not connected to the Yankees, has failed to pay any rent or property taxes, even though the garages sit on 21 acres of leased public land.

It currently owes the city a whopping $25 million.

In a desperate effort to preserve cash, the company plans to slash the salaries of a handful of full-time garage employees and to reduce the number of game-day parking attendants from 76 to 57. But those cuts are unlikely to stave of its collapse.

For the second year in a row, garage revenues will be “insufficient” to cover debt service payments due in April and October, the bondholder trustee said, thus triggering default provisions of the bonds.

The company’s chairman, William Loewenstein, has repeatedly referred all questions about the garages to the city Economic Development Corp., the agency that sponsored Bronx Parking Development’s creation. Two of Bronx Parking Development’s board members, in fact, are officials from the EDC and the Parks Department. Another is a representative of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

“There’s no way this crisis can continue this way into next year,” one board member said.

Diaz has been pressing City Hall to come up with an emergency plan to restructure the bonds, tear down some of the garages, and replace them with low-income housing or even a new hotel.

But four private developers who responded late last year to a request from Diaz for hotel proposals all wanted major city subsidies, one official said.

“We continue to actively assist the (Bronx Parking Development) Board as it evaluates all options,” said EDC spokesman Dave Lombino.

Bloomberg’s aides say the city never pledged to back these bonds, nor did its Industrial Development Agency, the entity that actually issued them. Any loss, they say, will have to be borne by the bondholders.

So, while City Hall keeps washing its hands of any responsibility for this mess, overpriced garages on 21 acres of city land keep producing nothing of value for the public.

jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

49ers stadium in Santa Clara now ‘fully funded’

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:05:20 +0100

The 49ers now have the $200 million they need to move to Santa Clara!

The 49ers now have the final $200 million needed to leave San Francisco, their home of 66 years, for a new, long-awaited stadium in Santa Clara.

The National Football League announced Thursday it would give the team $200 million in loans and straight payments for its $1 billion, 68,500-seat facility. Site work began in January on the venue, which could open next to Great America as soon as the 2014 season.

“This means we are fully funded for Santa Clara,” said 49ers CEO Jed York. “We are building a football stadium in Santa Clara.”

Project leaders previously expected $150 million from the NFL. The extra $50 million is more than welcome, said Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews.

“We were only counting on $150 million, but it just goes to show the continued strength and support of the NFL and the owners of the team toward what will be an iconic building,” he said.

The deal fell into place weeks after the five-time Super Bowl champions entered the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Their season ended in a loss to the New York Giants.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was not willing to concede the team was leaving the city, but his spokeswoman, Christine Falvey, acknowledged what city officials have privately said for years: Santa Clara will have to stumble for 49ers games to stay in San Francisco.

“San Francisco has always said that we have a solid plan B in place,” Falvey said. “San Francisco will always be there.”

A pair of false hopes

Some San Francisco officials, though, had been pinning their hopes largely on two factors: the 49ers not being able to line up financing for the stadium, and the league preferring the cachet of a San Francisco waterfront site over a parking lot next to Great America.

Carmen Policy, the former president of the 49ers who is a paid consultant to get a new stadium built in the Hunters Point Shipyard, said green technology or biotechnology firms could take over that space instead.

“I would think they’d be better off staying in the city,” he said, “but they don’t agree on that, and they put a lot of time, money and political capital into moving. It looks like they are going to get it done.”

The financing agreements, if they hold up, would confirm that belief. The rest of the project will be funded by an $850 million construction loan that Santa Clara approved in December.

Repaying that debt will rely in part on tickets that some longtime season ticket holders have decried as costly. For a spot in the new stadium, fans must pay a one-time fee for the rights to a seat, and club seats range from $20,000 to $80,000 each. Then they must buy the actual tickets, which can cost $325 to $375 per game.

York said those prices apply so far to only 9,000 seats. “There’s definitely going to be affordable seats for everybody in this building,” he said.

Group opposes the deal

The grassroots group Santa Clara Plays Fair hopes to send the financing deal back to voters, arguing residents were not fully informed of the risks when they approved building the stadium in 2010. Santa Clara’s city attorney has said the financial deal cannot be rejected in a vote.

Santa Clara Plays Fair organizers, who have collected the signatures they say validate their petition, now say they are seeking an attorney to represent them.

“It really doesn’t change the fact that Santa Clara’s agency is still on hook for $850 million worth of loans and voters never approved that,” said Deborah Bress, a spokeswoman for the group, of the NFL’s financing.

Chronicle staff writer John Coté contributed to this report. E-mail Stephanie M. Lee at slee@sfchronicle.com.

http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2012/02/03/49ers-stadium-in-santa-clara-now-fully-funded/

Super Bowl week begins, ice and snow no-shows

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:44:58 +0100

Hoping that this Super Bowl's venue will have a much better outcome with stadium tragedies! CBS News tells us the positive news

(AP) INDIANAPOLIS — Patriots coach Bill Belichick could leave his familiar hoodies in the hotel drawer. There was no need to bundle up for the start of only the fourth Super Bowl week in a northern city.

Ice and snow? Notable no-shows.

Fans threw open their jackets as they walked around downtown streets near Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday, hoping to get a glimpse of a celebrity in town for the game between New England and the New York Giants. Temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s were forecast for the start of the week, well above normal.

The sunshine felt so good that it made for a joke or two.

"I know the way we're preparing and the way we've controlled the weather, which is hard to do," Colts owner Jim Irsay said, smiling. "But we've had certain techniques that were going to keep hidden, and I hope they hold."

Already, it's way better than Dallas.

Weather is a major concern when the title game goes north, but some of the biggest problems came down south last year. Snow and 100 hours of sub-freezing temperatures snarled traffic and led to injuries when an icy patch fell off the stadium roof and hit six workers.

Indianapolis watched and prepared.

"You can have anything in Indiana," Super Bowl Host Committee spokeswoman Mel Raines said. "Our plan is intended for everything."

In its first three times at a northern exposure, the NFL's title game has experienced a little of everything.

The ground-breaking game came after the 1981 season in Detroit, a test of whether it would work outside the sunny climes of Florida, New Orleans, Texas and California. The week leading up to the game between the Bengals and 49ers included bursts of snow culminating in nasty conditions for game day.

Bored players passed the time that week by spinning their tires on the ice-covered hotel parking lot for fun.

"I think the biggest challenge was for guys not to get bored to tears," former Bengals offensive lineman Dave Lapham said. "We kind of felt cooped up, really. Guys talked about: What are we going to do? Ski? Ice skate? You could strap on skates and skate on the streets. There was nothing do to."

Traffic heading to the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., on game day got clogged by another burst of snow. Fans braved temperatures of 13 degrees and a wind chill of 21 below.

After that experience, there was talk that the league would never venture north again for a Super Bowl.

"I thought they'd stick to it, honestly," said Lapham, now a broadcaster for the Bengals. "But with the dynamic of people putting up more money for stadiums, they're going to reward communities."

Ten years later, the Bills and Redskins played for the title in Minneapolis, where the ground was covered with snow but the region handled it much more smoothly.

Then, the cold became a selling point for some Redskins players. Earnest Byner, Art Monk, Monte Coleman and Chip Lohmiller went ice fishing on Cedar Lake in 30-below wind chills. Byner caught a 4-inch perch using a wax worm.

The game returned to Detroit after the 2005 season and things went much more smoothly despite a little snow on game day, when the Steelers beat the Seahawks.

Last year's game in Dallas became an unexpected reminder of what can go wrong in winter, no matter where the location.

A snowstorm and 100 consecutive hours of subfreezing temperatures turned the Dallas area into an ice rink. Snow and ice fell from the roof of Cowboys Stadium, injuring six workers on the plaza below. Organizers had spread events around a 30-mile area to emphasize the regional support for the game, creating major travel problems when the weather went bad.

Indianapolis has done it differently.

Most of the Super Bowl events are clustered downtown, minimizing travel. Temporary structures for the Super Bowl festivities were fitted with wind gauges for safety. On Sunday, two tents at an NFL fan exhibit were closed for about an hour because of high winds.

The city removed parking meters from high-traffic streets downtown so snow could be easily pushed away. Twenty-four snow removal trucks were on call for the game, four times the normal amount. The host committee recruited "Super Shoveler" volunteers to help clear sidewalks if it snowed.

In some ways, it's a warm-up act for the first true cold-weather title game. The 2014 Super Bowl will be co-hosted by New York and New Jersey, played outdoors instead of in a dome during the middle of winter.

The logo for that game? A blue-and-white snowflake.

___

Associated Press sports writer Michael Marot and AP writer Carrie Schedler in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

Michigan works on scoreboard bugs, girds for biggest crowd ever

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:02:42 +0100

Ann Arbor — The first night game at Michigan Stadium on Saturday against Notre Dame has been the highest-demand ticket ever at Michigan, and athletic director Dave Brandon said an additional 50,000 tickets could have been sold.

Michigan plays Notre Dame in the 39th meeting of the rivals Saturday at 8 p.m., in a prime-time nationally-televised game with ESPN's GameDay crew in Ann Arbor. Brandon said Tuesday during a news conference that it will be the largest crowd in Michigan Stadium history. There are 109,901 seats.

Michigan Stadium's largest crowd was 113,090 for the 2010 season-opener against Connecticut.

"I always hate to say ever, but in modern times, based on … all the records we have, this would be the highest-demand ticket ever," Brandon said. "We could easily sell another 25,000 or 50,000 tickets to this game. The supply-and-demand model is getting blown up here.

"This place is going to be jammed. It will be the largest crowd we've ever had."

Brandon addressed logistics and security issues for Saturday's game, but also discussed problems experienced with the new Michigan Stadium scoreboards last weekend in their debut, the potential for additional night games and whether Michigan would entertain rival Ohio State for a night game, and also a special ceremony for former U-M receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard.

Howard, a member of the GameDay crew, will be honored during the game for his recent induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. But Brandon said not to expect Howard's jersey No. 21 to be retired.

"We're going to recognize Desmond, and you stay tuned for how that's going to happen," Brandon said. "The retirement-of-jersey situation is one we've been pretty public about in terms of having some serious difficulties and limitations. So I would not look forward to that, but I'd look forward to other things."

If the first night game goes well, Brandon said Michigan fans should anticipate additional night games at Michigan Stadium. They will not be limited to non-conference opponents, but the preference — if a Big Ten opponent is to be considered — would be an early October game.

"I would like to do one night game a year if it goes well," Brandon said. "If it doesn't go well, it doesn't matter what I'd like to do. It would have to be right team, right situation. I would never commit myself to every year, but if we could get into that kind of rhythm, that would be terrific. Clearly the acceptance level of this game is beyond anything we've seen."

Michigan is playing at Northwestern on Oct. 8 in a night game this season.

Earlier this summer, Brandon and Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis were asked about staging a Michigan-MSU night game, and Brandon shot that down idea. He also dismissed the possibility of hosting Ohio State in a night game the last Saturday of November.

"It's totally out of the question," Brandon said.

During Michigan's opener last Saturday against Western Michigan, which was lightning-shortened with 1:27 left in the third quarter, there were a number of complaints about the two new HD scoreboards at Michigan Stadium, an issue Brandon briefly touched on in a Twitter posting last weekend.

The biggest problem? The boards did not show the yard line on which the ball was marked.

"We've got people working on that; we were working on that over the weekend," Brandon said. "It was new technology.

"And so people were looking up there, 'I'm used to seeing this' and 'I want this information.' The wonderful thing about these scoreboards is how easy we can modify and change and we're in the process of doing that. We need to have, in a stadium as large as ours particularly — people want to know what yard line is the ball on because in some cases it's not easy to tell based on where you're seated. Cleary we're going to fix that. People want to be able to see down and distance and some of that data a little easier; we're going to make that bigger.

"People want more running game stats. We knew that. We have a separate computer program that creates game stats and displays them; that went down on us. That was a de-bugging issue, and we finally got it fixed, but by then we had other (weather-related) problems to deal with.

"We're going to show more game stats and make sure people have that information, and we also heard that people want more scores from around the country. We'll get better and we'll learn from some of our experience and feedback."

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110906/SPORTS0201/109060392/Michigan-works-on-scoreboard-bugs--girds-for-biggest-crowd-ever#ixzz1XCFofo4k

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110906/SPORTS0201/109060392/1361/Michigan-works-on-scoreboard-bugs--girds-for-biggest-crowd-ever

Vikings stadium: Pushing answers to June

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:34:32 +0100

Over the past months, we've been discussing the Minnesota Vikings' stadium bill in the context of Monday's required adjournment of the Minnesota state legislature. That body hasn't given the bill so much as a single committee hearing, and it now seems highly unlikely to consider the proposal in a meaningful way before adjourning.

What does that mean for the future of the Vikings? The answer is not much, at least not yet.

All indications are that Gov. Mark Dayton will need to call legislators back for a special session to approve the state budget before the July 1 start of the state's fiscal year. Dayton has the authority to put the stadium issue on the agenda of a special session.

The July 1 date is key both for the state and the stadium issue. Remember, after that date, either the Vikings or Ramsey County can opt out of their current stadium agreement, which calls for a $1.057 billion stadium in suburban Arden Hills. The Vikings' lease at the Metrodome expires Feb. 1, 2012, and they would technically be franchise free agents thereafter.

The likelihood of a special session makes it folly to write off either the current proposal or a future proposal at an alternate site. I realize we have chronicled a number of short-term hurdles to overcome, including a $131 million gap on road improvements and a dispute over naming rights. It's also clear that state legislators, who spent Saturday debating a Minnesota constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, have been and remain focused elsewhere.

But until a special session ends without legislative approval, something we might not know until the end of June or later, we'll keep you updated on all relevant developments.

Understandably, this topic makes some of your eyes glaze over. Others, TDBuddah included, appear mostly amused by what appears from the outside to be an overcooked issue. A few of you consider it a Pavlovian prompt to ask how the NFC North will replace the Vikings when they move to Los Angeles. But when a franchise with a 50-year market history is months away from free agency, I think it's worth our time to follow. Stay tuned.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/27139/vikings-stadium-pushing-answers-to-june

NFL Still Working to Appease Displaced Packers Fans

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:54:01 +0100

The inside of Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas for Super Bowl XLV. (photo submitted by Andy Quintana).

NEW YORK, N.Y. (WTAQ) - The National Football League is still trying to appease the 400 fans who bought tickets to the Super Bowl and never got seats.

A good number of Wisconsin Packer fans were among those shut out of a section of temporary seats that were not completed in time. They either had to stand high above the field, or watch the game on TV in a stadium lounge.

At first, the league offered to pay 3 times the face value of the $800 ticket to those who didn’t get alternative seats. Then on Monday, the league said the fans were allowed on the field for free food during the post-game celebration – and they were promised tickets to next year’s Super Bowl.

Tuesday, the NFL said it would also give fans another option of going to any future Super Bowl, with a free flight and hotel – and they can wait each year until they find out if their favorite team will make the Big Game.

League spokesman Greg Aiello said it wanted to offer a broader range of options to recognize the deep emotional bonds the fans have for their teams. But if they choose that option, they won’t get the $2,400 refund from Sunday.

The commissioner’s office plans to contact all those affected, and they’re still trying to find them all. Information on contacts can be e-mailed to the following address – SBXLV@NFL.Dot.Com

http://whbl.com/news/articles/2011/feb/09/nfl-still-working-appease-displaced-packers-fans/

Stadium bungle leaves 400 without seats for the big game

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:17:03 +0100

Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones tried his damnedest to set a record, and he did -- for the worst fumble in Super Bowl history, a monumental screw-up that originally left 1,250 ticket-holders without seats.In his quest to set an all-time Super Bowl attendance record, the ego-driven Jones and the NFL sold tickets for hastily constructed, temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium that wound up being incorrectly installed and deemed unsafe just hours before kickoff.

About 850 of the unlucky fans eventually were given other seats to watch the Packers down the Steelers, 31-25 -- but 400 were left out in the cold.

PHOTOS: STAR TELEGRAM/RICHARD W. RODRIGUEZ

SUPER ‘BULL’: A section of seats that had already been sold to fans is cordoned off in Cowboys Stadium during last night’s Super Bowl after they were deemed unsafe just hours before the game.

Olympic Stadium decision put on hold

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:49:17 +0100

By Steve Douglas, AP Sports Writer

LONDON — A decision on the future of the Olympic Stadium was postponed Monday after weeks of heated debate on whether the venue should retain a running track after the 2012 London Games.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company had been scheduled to announce its decision on Friday but said it needs more time to study the bids from Premier League clubs Tottenham and West Ham.

Tottenham proposes tearing down the 537-million pound ($853 million) arena after the Olympics and building its own stadium on the site without a running track. West Ham would convert the stadium into a venue for soccer and athletics.

"Given the detailed nature of both bids received, we need more time to seek further clarification with both bidders in order to identify a preferred bidder," the OPLC said in a statement. "The stadium is a significant public asset and we have a duty to run a robust process."

The OPLC said it also was also considering reverting to its original plan of converting the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium to a 25,000-seat track and field arena.

The body didn't say when a decision would be made on its preferred bidder, but hopes to have a deal finalized by March.

Both clubs submitted their final bid details to the OPLC last Friday.

Tottenham would raze the stadium and build a 60,000-seat soccer-only arena on the east London site. It offers to refurbish the dilapidated Crystal Palace athletics stadium in south London into a 25,000-seat venue for track and field.

West Ham would keep the Olympic track and turn the stadium into a 60,000-seat venue for soccer, athletics, concerts and community use.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympic organizing committee, said Sunday that Britain would "trash" its international reputation if it went back on its original promise to retain a purpose-built home for athletics at the stadium. He said it was London's "moral obligation" to keep the track and field legacy.

Tottenham executive director Donna Cullen responded Monday that there was no use for a large athletics stadium and that such a venue would risk becoming a "white elephant."

"The promise of an athletics stadium for 25,000 can't take place as originally promised," Cullen said. "We'd much rather see two successful stadiums, each dedicated to their sports, rather than an unsustainable compromise in one stadium. ... We feel that what we are offering is better than the promise made."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2011-01-24-627589398_x.htm

New Stadium?? New NFL Team??

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:51:06 +0100

According to a report, Philip Anschutz has agreed to finance construction of a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles under four conditions. Whether a stadium gets built remains to be seen. Proposals that would return the National Football League to Los Angeles have been floated like wobbly balls across the middle since the Rams and Raiders left about 15 years ago, and two are in play now. How either proposal affects the San Diego Chargers at this point is anyone's guess, as it has been for some time. But one of Anschutz's conditions is that an NFL team commits to moving to Los Angeles, which is something only a handful of teams, including the Chargers, could consider given their existing leases. (Anschutz's other conditions involve commitments from businesses, city officials and the NFL.)

Metrodome Roof Collapse: Roof Maker Recommended Replacing It

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:29:58 +0100

At 5 am CST Sunday December 13, 2010, the roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome collapsed due to high winds and up to 24 inches of snow that collected on it overnight. The damage to the roof caused the cancellation of several events, and one, the Vikings game against the New York Giants, to be moved to Detroit. (First posted at Zennie62.com)

While the disaster took the public, and thanks to New Media, the World, by surprise, featuring a dramatic video of the action as it happened, a document that is the meeting notes from the "Regular Meeting of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission" Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 9:30 a.m this blogger obtained online and is linked to here reveals that the roof was inspected in April of this year by Birdair, the roof maker. Before I continue, here is that video:

In a report to the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which manages and obtains financing for the Metrodome, Birdair explained that the roof should be replaced, and that while it's outer fabric "is performing well as compared to the original fabric specification," the inner membrane "has exceeded its service life of 20 years."

The stadium is 28 years old and the roof has collapsed four times over that period, including Sunday's disaster.

This part of the Commission report is particularly troubling:

Birdair also noted the inner liner is dirty and has some holes in it. Birdair recommends monitoring the areas with holes to avoid large tears from enlarging. Birdair rated the inner linerÃ¢â?¬â?¢s condition fair to poor. In addition, Birdair noted some minor areas on the outer membrane that needed repairing. Those areas have been repaired by staff.

What this means is, taken as a whole with both inner and outer membrane conditions, the roof was not in good condition, and had "large tears" that could enlarge. Apparently, under the weight of a tremendous snowstorm, they did. Moreover, it's not clear to what degree the condition was worsening in the time between the inspection in April and the roof collapse of Sunday.

Finally, Birdair recommended roof replacement, stating "As in the prior inspection report of five years ago, Birdair suggests the Commission consider planning for replacement of the roof fabric." In other words, the roof has been in a state where it needed to be replaced for at least five years, and the Commission was aware of it.

Birdair also attached an estimated cost to replace the roof at $12 million to $15 million, and said that it took five years to plan and implement a roof replacement.

With all of that, staff of the stadium believed the "roof continues to have serviceable life and will schedule testing again in another four years." Or, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission was willing to just have the stadium operate with the roof in condition where it needed to have been replaced long ago.

Until Sunday's events, that is.

Now, the stadium is arguably unsafe to be in, and even though work is underway to make the stadium ready for the planned ESPN Monday Night Football Game pitting the Vikings against the Chicago Bears, next week, given the events, will patrons want to watch the game under a roof that just collapsed the week before?

Stay tuned.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/zennieabraham/archives/231543.asp