NY Islanders landlocked in KC? Not so fast
Thu., Feb. 12 2009 @ 10:13AM
Kansas City and AEG are working on getting a pro basketball or hockey team for the Sprint Center. That's what City Manager Wayne Cauthen told The Downtowners lunch club yesterday. He specifically mentioned the New York Islanders. I saved this shaky video from yesterday's dispatch.
Since the announcement that the Islanders booked an exhibition game at the Sprint Center, there's been a lot of talk about the team getting landlocked in Kansas City. A lot of people saw the exhibition game as a sign that Islanders owner Charles Wang was fed up with not getting a new or upgraded hockey rink in Long Island.
Forbes says the Islanders are bleeding $20 million a year in America's largest sports market. The Islanders are the third most popular hockey franchise in the market, trailing the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. Forbes sees Kansas City as a real threat to steal the franchise, thanks to the looming presence of AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, who sits on the NHL's Board of Governors and, of course, runs the Sprint Center.
But as Newsday reported that the Islanders' lease with Nassau Coliseum prevents the team from moving until 2015 -- that is, unless Nassau County agreed to part ways. Don't count on it happening. "Legal experts say the lease can't be broken by paying off the remaining years because the prohibition, written as part of the 1985 lease and upheld by a Nassau State Supreme Court justice in 1998, says the team's presence on Long Island is what's important."
I called Neil deMause a couple of weeks ago. He's the author of Field of Schemes, a Web site devoted to the ins and outs of stadium deals. He also lives in New York. deMause told me that "everybody's freaking out" about the possibility of the Islanders skating to KC.
"The tabloids are in at least in 50 percent panic mode," deMause said. "What are we going to do? This means we need to get an arena deal done. If that was the intent, then it's working really well."
But deMause added some clarity.
"You don't leave New York for Kansas City," deMause said. "Even in a down economy, there's more opportunities to make money in New York.
"Maybe if Nassau Coliseum were literally falling down, and they felt like we're not going to get anything, but they're pretty close to getting deal in Long Island," he added. "It's just a matter of getting the local government to sign off on some of the approvals. It's not like there was $300 million gap or something like there was in Seattle."
At yesterday's Downtowners meeting, Cauthen again pushed the mistaken notion of waiting until the offseason to engage teams. deMause told me a couple of weeks ago that waiting doesn't make sense.
"I don't know why the offseason is some magic time," he said. "That's really bizarre, but it certainly wouldn't happen for the fall. It might happen for the following year."
deMause questioned AEG's incentive for getting a team. At least Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC pay rent.
"They're not going to give this kinda sweetheart deal that a lot of teams are going to want," deMause said. "You still have the same problem that you've got the nice new building, but it's still a smallish market and you still have the risk of teams like the [Pittsburgh] Penguins just using Kansas City as a means of leverage on their hometowns. Yes, hometowns are going to be a little less likely to cough up a lot of money, but I don't know if that's much of a benefit."
deMause also shot holes in Cauthen's theory that having an arena ready to go meant Kansas City was better positioned to swipe a team.
"The other problem of course is the the idea of come to Kansas City and you'll be able to rake in all the revenues from the ad signage and the luxury boxes and all of that is not that much of a benefit of nobody's buying ad signage and luxury boxes. So it's a double edged sword. It means that you don't have as much competition in the arena building business but it also means that teams are at least not in the immediate future going to be as eager to upgrade their facilities because if nobody has any money, then the ability to charge people more money isn't really a benefit."
Kansas City's best hope for getting a pro sports team for the Sprint Center is "a team that's already at the end of its rope," deMause said. A team that's exhausted all of its options and needs a new home. He suggested that the NBA's New Orleans Hornets might be such a team.
"It's the one team that you actually have leverage because of your market size," deMause said. "Because you can say, OK, we have an arena and you'd have to pay us some rent but at least you wouldn't be in a city that's lost half of its population."
But any attempt to lure a team would be surely end up with the team pitting city against city to get the best deal.
Sounds like we're a long way away from seeing a team in Kansas City.
Since the announcement that the Islanders booked an exhibition game at the Sprint Center, there's been a lot of talk about the team getting landlocked in Kansas City. A lot of people saw the exhibition game as a sign that Islanders owner Charles Wang was fed up with not getting a new or upgraded hockey rink in Long Island.
Forbes says the Islanders are bleeding $20 million a year in America's largest sports market. The Islanders are the third most popular hockey franchise in the market, trailing the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. Forbes sees Kansas City as a real threat to steal the franchise, thanks to the looming presence of AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, who sits on the NHL's Board of Governors and, of course, runs the Sprint Center.
But as Newsday reported that the Islanders' lease with Nassau Coliseum prevents the team from moving until 2015 -- that is, unless Nassau County agreed to part ways. Don't count on it happening. "Legal experts say the lease can't be broken by paying off the remaining years because the prohibition, written as part of the 1985 lease and upheld by a Nassau State Supreme Court justice in 1998, says the team's presence on Long Island is what's important."
I called Neil deMause a couple of weeks ago. He's the author of Field of Schemes, a Web site devoted to the ins and outs of stadium deals. He also lives in New York. deMause told me that "everybody's freaking out" about the possibility of the Islanders skating to KC.
"The tabloids are in at least in 50 percent panic mode," deMause said. "What are we going to do? This means we need to get an arena deal done. If that was the intent, then it's working really well."
But deMause added some clarity.
"You don't leave New York for Kansas City," deMause said. "Even in a down economy, there's more opportunities to make money in New York.
"Maybe if Nassau Coliseum were literally falling down, and they felt like we're not going to get anything, but they're pretty close to getting deal in Long Island," he added. "It's just a matter of getting the local government to sign off on some of the approvals. It's not like there was $300 million gap or something like there was in Seattle."
At yesterday's Downtowners meeting, Cauthen again pushed the mistaken notion of waiting until the offseason to engage teams. deMause told me a couple of weeks ago that waiting doesn't make sense.
"I don't know why the offseason is some magic time," he said. "That's really bizarre, but it certainly wouldn't happen for the fall. It might happen for the following year."
deMause questioned AEG's incentive for getting a team. At least Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC pay rent.
"They're not going to give this kinda sweetheart deal that a lot of teams are going to want," deMause said. "You still have the same problem that you've got the nice new building, but it's still a smallish market and you still have the risk of teams like the [Pittsburgh] Penguins just using Kansas City as a means of leverage on their hometowns. Yes, hometowns are going to be a little less likely to cough up a lot of money, but I don't know if that's much of a benefit."
deMause also shot holes in Cauthen's theory that having an arena ready to go meant Kansas City was better positioned to swipe a team.
"The other problem of course is the the idea of come to Kansas City and you'll be able to rake in all the revenues from the ad signage and the luxury boxes and all of that is not that much of a benefit of nobody's buying ad signage and luxury boxes. So it's a double edged sword. It means that you don't have as much competition in the arena building business but it also means that teams are at least not in the immediate future going to be as eager to upgrade their facilities because if nobody has any money, then the ability to charge people more money isn't really a benefit."
Kansas City's best hope for getting a pro sports team for the Sprint Center is "a team that's already at the end of its rope," deMause said. A team that's exhausted all of its options and needs a new home. He suggested that the NBA's New Orleans Hornets might be such a team.
"It's the one team that you actually have leverage because of your market size," deMause said. "Because you can say, OK, we have an arena and you'd have to pay us some rent but at least you wouldn't be in a city that's lost half of its population."
But any attempt to lure a team would be surely end up with the team pitting city against city to get the best deal.
Sounds like we're a long way away from seeing a team in Kansas City.
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