Islanders -- Lighthouse project

[CREW99AW]

Since when have North American sports leagues paid much attention to the international confederations of any sport?

As I said,I don't follow soccer.I don't like the game.I've only read up on the MSL because of the possible impact on the Isles move to Queens.

I read that since 2007,MSL has tried raising the level of play by internationalizing the league.Bought in big name players like Beckhem(sp).Scheduled matches against foreign teams to raise interest among US fans.

Also,doesn't FIFA control which teams get to participate in World Cup play?Wouldn't MSL want the US taking part,raising interest among it's fans?

 

[ej_pens]

Since when have North American sports leagues paid much attention to the international confederations of any sport?

Unlike almost all other NA professional leagues, the MLS teams participate in tournaments that are staged by the International confederations of their sport.

 

[MTK]

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/7.1439357?view=article&totalComments=16

Todays News: "Mangano creating plan to redevelop Nassau Coliseum hub"

So now let the taxpayers pay more taxes as opposed to the privately financed development by Wang. I am sure the good people of Nassau County will love this one.

Maybe those kids can create another video and raise funds for Nassau County

 

[Melrose Munch]

No, Garber wants 24 teams maximum (see question six). New York will almost definitely get the 20th team in 2013, and from there, things will likely go much slower as the league looks for committed owners it those markets. They're also supposedly exploring moving Chivas to San Diego or Riverside/San Bernadino to cover an additional prospective market.

For future expansion, they're looking at...

St. Louis
Atlanta
San Antonio
San Diego
Detroit
Miami or Tampa
Milwaukee (supposedly, I think this is pretty unlikely)
Ottawa (Melnyk was supposedly interested in a team, but it's more likely that it will be a D2 side playing at Frank Clair)

If ownership with deep pockets and an excellent stadium setup (meaning the owners also control the venue and are able to book other events there), then MLS will add beyond those 20 clubs, but there is no guarantee.

I see no reason why the league would be in trouble. All the owners have pretty deep pockets, every team (except D.C.) either have a club-owned venue or plans for such a venue by 2012, and all but Seattle and New England will have soccer-specific venues. Payrolls stay low and TV coverage is slowly improving on basic cable packages. The league plays a very marketable style of attacking soccer. Not to mention the remarkably inexpensive tickets that many markets have.

As long as the Islanders stay on Long Island, whether it's a renovated NVMC or the Barclays Center or an yet-to-be-constructed venue in Queens, I'll be satisfied. They've made too much history on the Island to leave because of politics.

Atlanta
Detroit
Miami
Tampa
Ottawa.

There.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Since when have North American sports leagues paid much attention to the international confederations of any sport?

The other major leagues in North America are the premier competitions for their sport with incredible power and an established history. MLS has none of those things.

As I said,I don't follow soccer.I don't like the game.I've only read up on the MSL because of the possible impact on the Isles move to Queens.

I read that since 2007,MSL has tried raising the level of play by internationalizing the league.Bought in big name players like Beckhem(sp).Scheduled matches against foreign teams to raise interest among US fans.

Also,doesn't FIFA control which teams get to participate in World Cup play?Wouldn't MSL want the US taking part,raising interest among it's fans?

MLS teams don't play in the World Cup, that's a national team competition. FIFA disapproves of larger leagues, but I don't think they would ban a national team because of it.

Atlanta
Detroit
Miami
Tampa
Ottawa.

There.

That's five teams for four expansion slots.

 

[CREW99AW]

The other major leagues in North America are the premier competitions for their sport with incredible power and an established history. MLS has none of those things.



MLS teams don't play in the World Cup, that's a national team competition. FIFA disapproves of larger leagues, but I don't think they would ban a national team because of it.



.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Brodie]

Atlanta
Detroit
Miami
Tampa
Ottawa.

There.

Miami and Tampa aren't both getting teams.

More likely scenario is:

New York 2
Atlanta
Miami
Phoenix
Detroit
Chivas moves to San Diego

That provides maximum regional coverage and hits the top 15 metro areas in the US (plus numbers 17, 21, 23, 29, 32 and 48 for good measure) plus the top three in Canada.

 

[nyrmetros]

As I said,I don't follow soccer.I don't like the game.I've only read up on the MSL because of the possible impact on the Isles move to Queens.

I read that since 2007,MSL has tried raising the level of play by internationalizing the league.Bought in big name players like Beckhem(sp).Scheduled matches against foreign teams to raise interest among US fans.

Also,doesn't FIFA control which teams get to participate in World Cup play?Wouldn't MSL want the US taking part,raising interest among it's fans?

MLS, not MSL.

 

[nyrmetros]

If they are really trying to expand that much, that fast, then that league is going to implode.

I just can't see how it can possibly sustain such a rapid expansion. They are going to get a boost for a few years from each new expansion team they let in, like they have in Toronto, Seattle, and Philly. But once the novelty factor of all these new franchises wears off, it's going to be a disaster.

MLS is not dealing with cities that don't have a stadium deal in place. The stadium deals tends to dictate what cities get MLS teams.

 

[nyrmetros]

I have to admit that I don't follow MLS.What I've picked up is from several articles and fan message boards.

I've read that FIFA doesn't want large leagues.Leagues with more then 20-24 teams.

FIFA offers that idea as a general rule of thumb, but admits that the USA/ Canada market is so unique that general bylaws do not apply. Thus FIFA has no problem with Canada joining MLS and not forcing Canada to field its own Pro D1 league.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.xmhomeice.com/audio/10-09-22 Chris Botta .MP3
Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank on XM Home Ice, Hockey This Morning, talking about the team, including their future.

Wang came out saying the team will be in their current home until the lease runs out in 2015.

Nothing may happen WRT new/updated arena (or relocation) until "the last minute" as it's all political now. (But don't expect the team to move more than a hour from their current location.)

 

[Melrose Munch]

The other major leagues in North America are the premier competitions for their sport with incredible power and an established history. MLS has none of those things.



MLS teams don't play in the World Cup, that's a national team competition. FIFA disapproves of larger leagues, but I don't think they would ban a national team because of it.



That's five teams for four expansion slots.

Miami and Tampa aren't both getting teams.

More likely scenario is:

New York 2
Atlanta
Miami
Phoenix
Detroit
Chivas moves to San Diego

That provides maximum regional coverage and hits the top 15 metro areas in the US (plus numbers 17, 21, 23, 29, 32 and 48 for good measure) plus the top three in Canada.

LA will keep both teams. Las Vegas would be better than SD.

 

[nyrmetros]

Lots of talk of Chivas USA moving to San Diego and rebranding.

 

[Bert Marshall days]

http://www.xmhomeice.com/audio/10-09-22 Chris Botta .MP3
Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank on XM Home Ice, Hockey This Morning, talking about the team, including their future.

Wang came out saying the team will be in their current home until the lease runs out in 2015.

Nothing may happen WRT new/updated arena (or relocation) until "the last minute" as it's all political now. (But don't expect the team to move more than a hour from their current location.)

That's been the thinking for a long time. It's either Nassau or Queens/Brooklyn but NYI are staying in NY.

 

[kdb209]

That's been the thinking for a long time. It's either Nassau or Queens/Brooklyn but NYI are staying in NY.

How dare you bring up hockey in the MLS thread.

 

[nyrmetros]

How dare you bring up hockey in the MLS thread.

haha. I've always said though that most of the MLS fans I know are also NHL fans.

 

[Brodie]

Well, MLS is relevant here. Soccer specific stadiums are much easier to throw up than arenas and the group looking to build one in Queens are looking to be in MLS by 2013. They also (allegedly) have all the financing they need to commence building. If the Islanders are intent on not moving until 2015 (which means building likely wouldn't commence until 2013), the community board and the Wilpons might just say "screw it" and go with the MLS stadium.

 

[The Underboss]

I don't think Wang leaves LI. The cable deal is one of the most lucrative if not the most lucrative around. I believe it sits in around 30 million a year. Plus now that he has control of the arena thanks to Suozzi he should be in position to make more money. Ultimately I think it will get done. Probably with some shady politics. Mangano a republicans wants the NYI to stay. Murrary also a republican seems she can care less about working together. Unless Mangano sweetens the pot for her or her district.

Part of me hopes the Shinnecock tribe builds their casino there so that the TOH is held out of the process as much as possible. Then I hope Murrary has to drive past that casino EVERYDAY and as she drives by, thinks to herself, "Boy I should have went with Wang's Lighthouse Project."

 

[LadyStanley]

wyshynski
Unintentionally hilarious: NY Islanders announced today A-1 First Class is the Official Moving Company of the New York Islanders.

 

[IceAce]

They keep losing like their losing and I dont think anyone is going to care where this freaking team goes. What a mess.

 

[Swept In Seven]

Kansas City Inlanders are close approaching

 

[Jeffrey93]

People keep saying if the Islanders move....don't expect them to move any further than an hour from their current location.

Is there an arena I don't know about?

 

[Steve55]

People keep saying if the Islanders move....don't expect them to move any further than an hour from their current location.

Is there an arena I don't know about?

The most likely location for the Islanders in the next 5 years will be an arena next to Citi Field.

http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=533141

Join us for New York Islanders Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night at Citi Field on Friday, July 9th when the Mets take on the Atlanta Braves at 7 p.m.

http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=537496

With just two days remaining until 2010 Training Camp, five Islanders players headed West to Flushing, Queens for one final off-season hoorah at Citi Field. Rick DiPietro, Bruno Gervais, Matt Moulson, Rob Schremp and James Wisniewski spent the afternoon in the batters box and on the diamond for batting practice prior to the New York Mets’ evening game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On top of these moves Wang has essentially eliminated a potential site for a Shinnecock casino, an offer which may seem substantial but has a bunch of strings that are more than likely designed to make the Nassau County Republicans rich before Wang ever sees a penny

http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infom...newsday_10min&feed:max=50&feed:search=Charles Wang

New York Islanders owner Charles Wang is handing over the right to build on his 144 acres of Plainview property to home builder Michael Dubb, of the Beechwood Organization in Jericho , Dubb said Wednesday.

Newsday reported last week that the Shinnecock Indian Nation was eyeing the same swath of wooded land as a potential casino site. Dubb said Wednesday that he and Wang have been in talks for months. Dubb would not discuss the terms of the transaction.

Also, just this week, the Isles named an offcial moving company

http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=542301

The New York Islanders announced today the addition of A-1 First Class – Viking Moving and Storage, Inc. as a new corporate partner. A-1 First Class joins the organization as the Official Moving Company of the New York Islanders.

The Isles have been showing their intention to move out of Nassau County in recent months.

 

[Steve55]

Part I

Well, MLS is relevant here. Soccer specific stadiums are much easier to throw up than arenas and the group looking to build one in Queens are looking to be in MLS by 2013. They also (allegedly) have all the financing they need to commence building. If the Islanders are intent on not moving until 2015 (which means building likely wouldn't commence until 2013), the community board and the Wilpons might just say "screw it" and go with the MLS stadium.

Also a soccer stadium is not as versatile as hockey arenas in holding other types of events

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b..._major_league_soccer_franchise_in_new_yo.html

The Mets are still interested in owning an MLS expansion franchise in the city, but the biggest issue would be financing and the location of the stadium, David Howard, the team's executive vice president in charge of business said on Monday...

Howard said the biggest hurdle is the stadium, which would have to be a multipurpose facility.

"It would be very difficult to justify the building costs for 20 or so dates that you get for soccer for regular season and exhibitions," he said.

In a perfect world, the stadium would be near Citi Field in Queens, but Howard said the team "would be open to other possibilities as well."

"It would make a lot of sense to be somewhere in this area, but again it's something that we don't have any rights to," he said.Howard added: "This is something that is on the horizon for us, something that we are giving consideration to. But I can't say it's hot at the moment. Depending how certain circumstances present themselves, we can certainly move relatively quickly."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...soccer_franchise_in_new_yo.html#ixzz14WMLeECk

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...soccer_franchise_in_new_yo.html#ixzz14WM6tsMG

Even though you are correct about somebody having a financing for a soccer stadium, that guy's name is Paul Kemsley

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/p...585638_Rebirth_of_the_Cosmos_is_possible.html

An ownership group led by Paul Kemsley, a former vice chairman for Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League, purchased the rights to the internationally-known Cosmos name with the intention of bringing professional soccer back to New York... The early leaders for that expansion team are the Cosmos group and the Wilpon family, which also expressed interest and had meetings with MLS executives..

Ultimately, the process will take as long as necessary to get an agreement to build a soccer-specific stadium. MLS officials are known to favor Queens as the franchise’s home, and it would make sense to build something in the Willets Point area, close to Citi Field. Cosmos director of soccer Terry Byrne said the club has the financing in place to build a stadium.

Sounds like the Wilpons are separate from the Kemsley group. Also, what's the likelihood of Wilpons helping Kemsley for a soccer specific stadium next to Citi Field (in either leasing out a part of Citi Field to Kemsley or paying a portion for it) in which they believe makes little or no financial sense for them?

Also, Garber has admitted he's looking at sites other than Citi Field (where Shea used to stood)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/grant_wahl/07/28/allstar.garber/1.html


SI.com: MLS has made some solid choices recently with expansion: Seattle, Toronto, Philadelphia, with Portland and Vancouver coming in next year and Montreal as the 19th team in 2012. What comes after that?

Garber: If we could write the book, the next chapter would be a second team in New York. We're working hard to achieve that. We've been spending time talking to potential investors, doing a lot of planning to figure out how to make the economics work. The Red Bulls have been very supportive of having a hometown rival. I hope our 20th team is in New York City. We've got a lot of work to do to achieve that.

SI.com: Would it be in Brooklyn, Queens or somewhere else?

Garber: We're looking at a number of different sites, sites in Queens for the most part, and not just at Shea but Long Island City and Flushing Meadow Park. So we have three particular sites we're looking at. But we have a lot of work to do to get something done. It's a very difficult market, very crowded.

SI.com: What year would you be hoping to start that team?

Garber: It certainly wouldn't be any earlier than 2013, and we're racing up against a deadline to get it done by '13. In order to get it done by 2013 we've got to get something done in the next 12 months
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/grant_wahl/07/28/allstar.garber/1.html#ixzz14WODtiFg

Don Garber reiterated his position a month later:

http://www.ny1.com/content/124077/m...sioner-wants-to-move-n-y--red-bulls-to-queens

 

[Steve55]

Part II

To Brodie:

The Islanders signed a lease with Nassau County in 1985

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/127386

Legal experts said that the lease "can't be broken by paying off the remaining years because the prohibition, written as part of the 1985 lease, ... says the team's presence on Long Island is what's important." .. Goodman said that if Wang "were to try to move the Islanders, the county 'would take whatever action necessary to enforce the contract.'" N.Y.-based attorney Scott Mollen: "The only way out is through mutually acceptable negotiated termination" (NEWSDAY, 2/1).

Also, in 1985 the Isles owner John Pickett signed a lease with SMG

http://www.islesinfo.com/Owner-History.html

Pickett also signed a lease in 1985 with Spectacor Management Group bounding the Islanders to the Coliseum until 2015. In accordance with the lease the Islanders could not play home games anywhere else. It also called for the team to give as much as two-thirds of revenue, including ticket sales, advertising, and all of parking to SMG and the county. The agreement seemed very debilitating to the franchise, but Pickett overvalued the worth of luxury boxes which the lease allowed him to build and pocket the revenue himself. With the Coliseum not having enough luxury suites to make a profit and little room to add more, the lease became an albatross for the Islanders franchise for many years to come.

Original lease between the Isles and SMG was signed in 1979 but it was renewed in 1985. Its terms are in the next link

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpa...B63&sec=&spon=&&scp=8&sq=Islanders SMG&st=cse

An Islanders spokesman, Chris Botta, said the Islanders receive no share from parking revenues, which last year were worth about $900,000. Mr. Botta said the Islanders get no cut from concession sales, and cede 11 percent of ticket sales before taxes, as well as 40 percent of revenues from arena signs.

Fast forward to December 2009

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...one-barrier-to-islanders-leaving-li-1.1672135 (subscription based)

The New York Islanders may have removed one more barrier to renovating their Nassau Coliseum home - but they've also come one step closer to being able to leave Long Island altogether.

A $17 million sublease deal, reached this week after years of negotiations between Philadelphia-based SMG, the Coliseum's manager, and the Islanders, removes the main lease's legal roadblock that forced the Islanders to play all home games at Nassau Coliseum until 2015.

The sublease states that it does not prevent the Islanders from either selling the team or "permanently relocating."

But the Islanders still would need county approval to move, Chief Deputy County Executive Marilyn Gottlieb said. "It clears one hurdle for them," she said. "This does not give the consent of the county."

If the Islanders were to leave, and relinquish control of the Coliseum, they would immediately have to pay SMG the remainder of the rent due for the entire term of the lease, which still expires in July 2015.

The sublease requires the Islanders to pay SMG $3.4 million annually, plus additional payments structured as a percentage of the Islanders' net operating income.

The deal gives the Islanders operational control of the Coliseum, while SMG will continue to handle day-to-day activities there, Gottlieb said. The Islanders will receive all revenue that SMG used to get, including parking, concessions and some ticket sales and the team will handle all Coliseum bookings.

Original lease 'looked good'

The main SMG lease had come under fire for giving SMG too much and the county and the Islanders too little.

Fred Parola, a state assemblyman when the SMG contract was signed in 1979 and county comptroller from 1994 to 2001 when his office audited the lease, said it "looked good on its face at the time" as well.

"They said they were going to shepherd sports in," he said. "This group [SMG] would put us on the map."

But in a 2006 audit, county Comptroller Howard Weitzman said SMG had underpaid the county by $900,000. SMG said at the time that it believed the county was "misreading longstanding agreements" regarding the financial arrangements between the county and SMG.

SMG officials did not return calls for comment this week.

The new sublease notes that the Islanders' control of the arena is necessary "to improve the marketing of the Islanders and as a condition to proceeding with such renovation and redevelopment plans."

Gottlieb said SMG and Lighthouse officials reached a deal in the past two weeks. The sublease was then approved by outgoing County Executive Thomas Suozzi and doesn't need further approvals, Gottlieb said, because it does not change the underlying terms of the original lease.


A follow up: http://www.lettherebelighthouse.com/2009/12/more-clarity-on-lease.html

1.SMG will continue to have day-to-day control of the Coliseum.
2. The Islanders will gain operational control of the arena, handling all Coliseum bookings and receiving all the concessions, parking, and ticket revenue SMG used to receive.
3.The agreement does not prevent the Islanders from leaving Nassau Coliseum, but they would be required to pay SMG the remainder of their rent, through 2015.
4. The Islanders would still require County approval to leave Nassau Coliseum.

While removing a major hurdle to getting the Lighthouse Project done, the lease also, admittedly, removes a hurdle to the team leaving Nassau County as well (though there is a permanent injunction still in place forcing the Islanders to play home games at Nassau Coliseum through 2015 - there would likely be an issue with the County should that change)

The current sublease was done on late December 2009. If you think the Isles want to ride out their 2 leases (SMG sublease and their lease with Nassau County) until 2015, why did they sign with A1 as their official moving company?

http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=542301