nyet for nets?

Karl the Druid wrote: oh jack, my number one fan


ole brucey boy just might buy your home for millions

but you would have to actually struggle

against something first

Word has it that they are on track for a 2012 opening, and already selling tickets to events.

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_stories/136583/brooklyn-arena-on-track-for-2012-opening

A year after breaking ground, the Barclays Center is taking shape -- from what's to become center court to the top of the roof.

"We've gotten 70 percent of the foundation is in. We finished the mass excavation. We have steel circulating around more than half of the site," said Linda Chiarelli of Forest City Ratner Companies.

Nets CEO Brett Yormark gave NY1 a tour of the site. He says the construction is right on track for a 2012 opening when the Nets, for the first time, will play in Brooklyn.

"They've been underserved in the area of sports and entertainment for years. Since the dodgers left in 1957. We're the home team. We're coming back. And we're giving them something to root for," said Nets CEO Brett Yormark.

When completed, nine subways lines and the LIRR will come to the foot of the building in a pedestrian plaza. Inside, there will be 18,000 seats for basketball games and 19,000 for concerts. Barclays Center will also feature boxing matches among its many already scheduled events.

"We're bringing the circus here and Disney on Ice. We have a college franchise we're developing with IMG College for lots of great college sports with basketball and hockey," Yormark said.

Tickets for Brooklyn's inaugural season went on sale this week, offered first to current Nets season ticket holders. Tickets for the general public are expected to go on sale this fall.

Yormark says he expects the place to sell out, particularly when the Nets take on the Knicks.

"We want a great rivalry," said Yormark. "We think when we play the Knicks at the Garden or when they come here to the Barclays Center we want those nights to be some of the biggest nights in New York and in Brooklyn."

The arena's facade is scheduled to go up this summer. And the roof should be done by the end of the fall.

Chorus:

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.

Where have you been?

It's alright we know where you've been.

You've been in the pipeline, filling in time,

Provided with toys and 'Scouting for Boys'.

You bought a guitar to punish your ma,

And you didn't like school, and you

know you're nobody's fool,

So welcome to the machine.

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.

What did you dream?

It's alright we told you what to dream.

You dreamed of a big star,

He played a mean guitar,

He always ate in the Steak Bar.

He loved to drive in his Jaguar.

So welcome to the Machine.

http://gothamist.com/2011/04/04/worst_case_atlantic_yards_could_jus.php

As Predicted, Atlantic Yards Could Just Be Stadium, Parking

After all of that fighting, the never ending Atlantic Yards project could now end up just being a nondescript stadium and acres of parking. The project's developer, Forest City Ratner, filed documents with the SEC last week that warn of "further delays" to the non-stadium portions of the project that could lead to the scrapping of most or all of the rest of the 22-acre, $4.9 billion project. But hey, at least the city got rid of all that urban blight!

Basically the same cash flow issues (rising construction costs, rising financing rates, inability to meet government deadlines, trouble with sponsorships) that have caused Ratner to start looking into prefab construction may in the end entirely kill the project. Here is how the company's filing describes the situation if any any of those problems get worse:

If any of the foregoing risks were to occur we may: (i) not be able to develop Brooklyn Atlantic Yards to the extent intended or at all resulting in a potential write-off of our investment, (ii) be required to pay the City and/or State of New York liquidated damages for failure to meet certain agreed upon project deadlines, and (iii) be in default of our non-recourse mortgages on the project. The exposure to loss on this investment is approximately $525 million, excluding any potential write-offs for the arena or any liquidated damages described in (ii) of this paragraph, and could have a significant, material adverse effect on our business, cash flows and results of operations. Even if we were able to continue with the development, or a portion thereof, we would likely not be able to do so as quickly as originally planned, would be likely to incur additional costs and may need to write-off a portion of the development.

The company did have one bright spot last year, however. Thanks to the finally finalized sale of a majority interest in the Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, Forest City had "record" earnings.

The NYT seems to agree: Anyone who thought this project would create affordable housing and jobs is a sucker.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/nyregion/atlantic-yards-arena-begins-taking-shape.html?_r=1

The following day, Ratner counters the article by stating "it will be pretty"

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2011/07/new-interior-renderings-of-barclays-center/#more-61967

Justice Marcy Friedman should order an immediate halt to all work on the Arena and A-Y until we find out once and for all what's causing these INFERNAL DELAYS!

after all, we have bruce ratner's word: "suckers."