In my first post on the effect of the global meltdown of markets, let's tackle the question of a deepening financial crisis that effects New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut more dramatically than any other part of the country. A depression so sudden and disarming that New York is no longer the global financial epicenter of prosperity but just another backwater big city with an auction house.
Already there is the observation that the global power-players who have cash to burn are interested in New York properties and Ratner whose Nets have been little more than a money sink for years may be expendable.
In an exhausted New York economy, it is not inconceivable that an Asian buyer of a team like the Nets might simply pack up their acquisition and move them out to Seattle rather than keep them in the New York metro area.
Whether it is the Nets or another team, expect the face of the NBA to change dramatically and suddenly as the economic cancer spreads through the American sports market.
It won't be long before the Knicks are playing the Sheiks.
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Here, dear readers, is the final resting place of all weary Knicks fans. Yes, here is where one comes when the Triangle refuses to have three sides, when biting one's lip from losing to win later is one loss too far,or when said fan simply hits 'rock' bottom. In short, "the ship be" eternally "sinking" here. Welcome aboard, rearrange the deck chairs as you please.
1 comment:
You need a better editor and a sense of history.
Your post is ludicrous. New York as an auction house? The human capital that is the key ingredient of a financial center's success is not replicated in Dubai or Singapore. Not yet anyway.
And all this silliness about foreign investors is so last spring. Those inquiries took place MONTHS ago, if they took place at all. The oil sheiks of Dubai and oil barons of Moscow no longer have that steady stream of discretionary income, now that the price of crude has dropped $80 a barrel. Instead, they are acting like US consumers, conserving what capital they have left.
Brooklyn is likely to succeed because it is one of the few projects that is approved, provides housing and is managed by people with an understanding of how things get built in the city, whether that means working with unions or contractors or finding the best available financing. I suggest you look at their success in getting more than a $1 billion in financing for their projects on Beekman Place and DeKalb Avenue. And here is something the critics havent yet counted on. When Beekman starts to rise and its Gehry signature becomes evident downtown, it will become an icon of a city that ISN'T on its last legs. And that will redound in Ratner's favor.
If you're looking for a team in trouble, look at the Heat, whose owner makes his money on Carnival Cruise Lines. Take a look at THAT stock.
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