RIP Rev. J. Donald Monan - The man who saved the Bruins from leaving Boston

[Fenway]

In 1993 Jeremy Jacobs was fed up with Massachusetts politicians and killed the plans to build a new Garden. Make no mistake about this - they were GONE.

Father Monan called Jeremy Jacobs and told him to be quiet and we can get this done but you have to make concessions. Jacobs did what was suggested and the project was green lighted finally.

I had the pleasure of meeting the man in a relaxed family setting as he was close friends with my late cousin who was a major force with the BC alumni.

He also helped rebuild the bridges between Bob Kraft and Beacon Hill when the Patriots were very close to moving to Hartford.

RIP Father - Thank You for everything you did for the sports fans and the entire Boston area.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...rn-era-dies/nb3ZEwu6UMp4jwkRZo0AOK/story.html

Father Monan’s impact extended well beyond the BC campus. Boston Magazine once named him the city’s best politician. In 2002, he was appointed head of a special commission to propose ways to overhaul the state judicial system. In 1999, he played a key role in keeping the New England Patriots from moving to Hartford. In 1993, his intervention was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the replacement of Boston Garden by the FleetCenter, which is now the TD Garden.

“Father Monan was sort of a safe harbor where people who had polarized themselves could come back together,†Larry Moulter, who was president of the New Boston Garden Corp., once said of his role in getting the FleetCenter built.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...120_1_boston-garden-new-garden-boston-college

AFTER WEEKS of haggling and closed-door meetings, legislators and the developers proposing a new Boston Garden finally agreed Thursday to a deal that puts the project back on track. The fate of the Garden, home to the NBA's Celtics and the NHL's Bruins, was thrown into doubt two weeks ago when the multi-millionaire developer, Jeremy Jacobs, announced he was tired of dealing with legislative demands and halted the project.

The impasse led Republican Gov. William F. Weld to warn that the state was sending the wrong message to businesses nationwide. But by Thursday, after a secret meeting earlier in the week attended by Jacobs and legislative leaders in the Boston area, both sides agreed to terms for the $160 million project.

''It will be easy now to build the bricks and mortar to open a new Garden in September of '95,'' said Larry Moulter, president of Boston Garden. ''What was always questionable was this community's will to do it.'' Sources said the meeting with Jacobs took place at Boston College, under the auspices of the Rev. Donald Monan, the school's president.

Moulter announced the agreement at a Statehouse press conference with Senate President William Bulger, D-Boston and House Speaker Charles Flaherty, D-Cambridge.

Click to read more...

 

[Ratty]

Father Monan also is credited with building Boston College standing in the academic community. He used that same charm on alumni who financed the expansion of the campus and a healthy endownment.

Of course, Doug Flutie had a little to do with the enhancement of the athletic program.

Rest in peace, Father Monan.

 

[bobbyorr04]

In 1993 Jeremy Jacobs was fed up with Massachusetts politicians and killed the plans to build a new Garden. Make no mistake about this - they were GONE.

Father Monan called Jeremy Jacobs and told him to be quiet and we can get this done but you have to make concessions. Jacobs did what was suggested and the project was green lighted finally.

I had the pleasure of meeting the man in a relaxed family setting as he was close friends with my late cousin who was a major force with the BC alumni.

He also helped rebuild the bridges between Bob Kraft and Beacon Hill when the Patriots were very close to moving to Hartford.

RIP Father - Thank You for everything you did for the sports fans and the entire Boston area.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...rn-era-dies/nb3ZEwu6UMp4jwkRZo0AOK/story.html



http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...120_1_boston-garden-new-garden-boston-college

Interesting article Fenway. I never knew the B's were that close to being uprooted.

God bless Father Monan!

 

[Fenway]

Interesting article Fenway. I never knew the B's were that close to being uprooted.

God bless Father Monan!

One thing Father Monan failed at was a year later brokering a deal that would have seen a new Patriots stadium in South Boston. That came very close to happening but Beacon Hill tabled the measure until 1994. The caretaker owner of the Patriots did not want to wait another year and he sold team to Robert Kraft who owned Foxborough Stadium.

Had the South Boston stadium been approved there was a buyer ready to buy the Patriots from James B. Orthwein

Both Flaherty (D-Cambridge) and Senate President William Bulger (D-South Boston) said yesterday that the pressure to approve a megaplex bill is reminiscent of the controversy last January over the Garden.

That controversy erupted when, in the waning hours of the 1992 session, Bulger held up a bill that would have cleared the way for a new Garden. The bill was approved a month later, but only after lengthy negotiations among Bulger, Jacobs and other top state officials.

This time around, the focus has been on Flaherty, who has insisted that Gov. Weld get more private financing for the megaplex before he will endorse the idea.

Flaherty appears vexed by pressure from megaplex backers to move on the bill before the Legislature adjourns on Jan. 4.

"I don't understand why it can't be done Jan. 11, for instance," he said last night. "You don't just suddenly show up with this bill and say, `Drop everything and do this or the Patriots will leave town.' "

Bulger said that when he asked Flaherty yesterday if the Senate would soon receive the megaplex bill, the speaker's reply indicated that his meetings with business leaders on private financing for the megaplex may be about to bear fruit.

"The word `breakthrough' -- he hasn't indicated that to me," said Bulger. "But he did say, `We have some ideas about private funds that sound quite appealing.' "

A House member close to Flaherty said last night that "something definitely is cooking, but whether it is ready to be consumed in this session or next session remains to be seen."

Rep. Kevin Fitzgerald (D-Jamaica Plain), one of Flaherty's Democratic colleagues, confirmed that the speaker has liked what he has heard from business leaders.

"I think they've moved on it a little bit, and he's gotten some clarification," said Fitzgerald. "They're making a good case, saying, `Don't close the door on the megaplex.' "

Despite rumors of imminent breakthroughs, Rep. Christopher J. Hodgkins (D-Lee), chairman of the House State Administration Committee, which is now reviewing the bill, said, "The chances of something coming out of this committee are absolutely nil for the rest of this year."

Referring to New England Patriots owner James B. Orthwein's stated hope of megaplex approval by Jan. 4, Hodgkins said, "If Mr. Orthwein thinks that we're going to schedule our legislative schedule to line his coffers further, he's full of it."

Orthwein, the St. Louis-based owner of the Patriots, has threatened to sell the team to St. Louis interests if a new stadium is not built in Boston. The Patriots' home stadium is now in Foxborough.

Using tones reminiscent of the fight over the new Garden, Bulger weighed in yesterday with a strong warning to megaplex backers not to mount a pressure campaign. He indicated delays like those on the Garden may result.

"We can do exactly the same with this if that's what's called for," Bulger said. "It will not be pleasant because you're going to have the same people all upset. The sportswriters and the rest will be quite angry."

But, said Bulger, "it is the classic case of the easy wrong versus the hard right." He added that while "the easier thing is to let this sort of thing go through" regardless of any flaws in the legislation, he and the Senate will not "act hastily" if they get the bill at the last minute.

The megaplex would include 650,000 square feet of convention space and 70,000 seats. Its configuration could be changed to accommodate either football or major conventions. It would be sited at South Bay across the Expressway from the Massachusetts Avenue interchange.

Many Boston tourism and business leaders say the city needs a megaplex because the Hynes Convention Center is too small to accommodate major national conventions, which could create jobs and pump dollars into the city's economy.

Oh I neglected to mention who wanted to buy the Patriots ( and have the concessions at the new Megaplex )

Garden owner eyes the Patriots, with megaplex as home
[City Edition]
Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext) - Boston, Mass.
Author: Will McDonough and Don Aucoin, Globe Staff
Date: Dec 22, 1993

As state leaders inched closer yesterday to a deal on a $700 million convention center and football stadium, the owner of the Boston Garden said he wants to buy the New England Patriots and see them play in the new megaplex.

"I am not a football maven, but I do enjoy the game," said Jeremy Jacobs, the owner of the Garden and the Boston Bruins and the prime mover behind the new Shawmut Center, which will replace the Garden and is scheduled to be completed by 1995. "I'm very interested in buying the Patriots and we will pursue getting the team."

"My bigger interest here is to see that the Patriots do not move out of Boston," said Jacobs in a telephone interview from Buffalo. "I believe in that city. I have major interests in that community. I know what the governor, the state and the city can do. We worked together and we have the new building under way."

At the State House, meanwhile, House Speaker Charles F. Flaherty, who had been skeptical about financing the entire megaplex with public dollars, said he is still "negotiating with myself" on whether the deal makes sense for the state.

"I'm trying to see if there's a way to do this," the speaker said in an interview after he met with more business leaders to ascertain whether private interests can come up with $100 million toward the $700 million cost of the megaplex.

Flaherty also told the Globe that he has sought assurances through third parties from National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue that the new facility would get to host a Super Bowl.

Jacobs said he has placed Garden president Larry Moulter and Gail Edwards, chief financial officer of Jacobs' company, Delaware North, in charge of obtaining the Patriots. Moulter said he and Edwards expect to meet soon with representatives of Goldman Sachs, a New York investment firm, "to get the type of financial information we need to arrange our bid."

Moulter, who supports a megaplex, said he believes the Patriots would fit perfectly with Jacobs' many sports and concession businesses in Boston. But he said he has asked the state to include a non-compete clause in any megaplex stadium lease, as protection for the new Shawmut Center.

"All we asked is that the stadium not be turned into a 20,000-seat concert center and take away some of the events that we need to support the new Shawmut Center," said Moulter.

"The megaplex is supposed to have 70,000 seats and just be used for major events, so there should not be any problems," Moulter added. "But we still want some protection for events that would normally go to our building."

Somehow I don't think Jeremy Jacobs would have won 5 Super Bowls.

Thankfully that Megaplex deal fell apart and 2 weeks later Orthwein sold to Robert Kraft.

 

[JRull86]

Fascinating stuff as always Fenway.

I shutter to think about how the Patriots success would have been different with Jacobs, because let's be serious, they probably wouldn't have even won one.

 

[Terrier]

I've been told that Father Monan never, ever missed a hockey game at B.C.

 

[Fenian24]

One thing Father Monan failed at was a year later brokering a deal that would have seen a new Patriots stadium in South Boston. That came very close to happening but Beacon Hill tabled the measure until 1994. The caretaker owner of the Patriots did not want to wait another year and he sold team to Robert Kraft who owned Foxborough Stadium.

Had the South Boston stadium been approved there was a buyer ready to buy the Patriots from James B. Orthwein



Oh I neglected to mention who wanted to buy the Patriots ( and have the concessions at the new Megaplex )

Garden owner eyes the Patriots, with megaplex as home
[City Edition]
Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext) - Boston, Mass.
Author: Will McDonough and Don Aucoin, Globe Staff
Date: Dec 22, 1993



Somehow I don't think Jeremy Jacobs would have won 5 Super Bowls.

Thankfully that Megaplex deal fell apart and 2 weeks later Orthwein sold to Robert Kraft.

This is a true tragedy because NFL by laws state you can't own two professional sports teams. I remember hearing that when JJ was interested in the Cleveland Browns.

As a Bruins and a Seahawk fan this would have been perfect, no JJ destroying the Bruins and no Patriots in Super Bowl 49.

 

[Fenway]

This is a true tragedy because NFL by laws state you can't own two professional sports teams. I remember hearing that when JJ was interested in the Cleveland Browns.

As a Bruins and a Seahawk fan this would have been perfect, no JJ destroying the Bruins and no Patriots in Super Bowl 49.

The NFL tweaks that if it serves their purpose. (see Bills and Sabres)

 

[Judge Smails]

Wasn't there talk at the time of the Red Sox playing in this megaplex monstrosity? I have a hard time envisioning what the Sox did in 2004 in a domed stadium on fake grass.

 

[JRull86]

Wasn't there talk at the time of the Red Sox playing in this megaplex monstrosity? I have a hard time envisioning what the Sox did in 2004 in a domed stadium on fake grass.

I believe they were trying to build a stadium near the water somewhere in Southie in the 60s or 70s. Never heard anything about this iteration though.

 

[Fenway]

I believe they were trying to build a stadium near the water somewhere in Southie in the 60s or 70s. Never heard anything about this iteration though.

Mid 60's the Red Sox agreed that they would play in this proposed stadium. A new arena would be built next door and during the summer it would be used for dog racing to help pay for it.

http://www.stadiumpage.com/concepts/BostonDome_R.html

 

[Bruins1233]

Mid 60's the Red Sox agreed that they would play in this proposed stadium. A new arena would be built next door and during the summer it would be used for dog racing to help pay for it.

http://www.stadiumpage.com/concepts/BostonDome_R.html

Thank god that didn't happen, looks like they were going to replace the South Station Head House with crap, that would have been tragic.
Can you Imagine Boston without Fenway or South Station?

 

[Fenway]

Thank god that didn't happen, looks like they were going to replace the South Station Head House with crap, that would have been tragic.
Can you Imagine Boston without Fenway or South Station?

That is exactly what they wanted to do similar to Penn Station in New York.

 

[JRull86]

Mid 60's the Red Sox agreed that they would play in this proposed stadium. A new arena would be built next door and during the summer it would be used for dog racing to help pay for it.

http://www.stadiumpage.com/concepts/BostonDome_R.html

Oh my god that's heinous.

I could have sworn I saw an idea somewhere for a new Fenway somewhere by the water near South Station. An out door park, with the Monster sitting on the water, live SF Giants park.

Actually I believe you posted it a while back Fenway.

 

[Fenway]

Oh my god that's heinous.

I could have sworn I saw an idea somewhere for a new Fenway somewhere by the water near South Station. An out door park, with the Monster sitting on the water, live SF Giants park.

Actually I believe you posted it a while back Fenway.

1995 Frank McCourt wanted to build this on his parking lots in Southie.

 

[JRull86]

1995 Frank McCourt wanted to build this on his parking lots in Southie.

That's the one!

I could've gotten behind that if the location was better, IE not facing the postal center and old MA Parole Board office

 

[Bruins1233]

That is exactly what they wanted to do similar to Penn Station in New York.

I think most New Yorkers would want a redo on that one.

 

[81ragnaH]

This is a true tragedy because NFL by laws state you can't own two professional sports teams. I remember hearing that when JJ was interested in the Cleveland Browns.

As a Bruins and a Seahawk fan this would have been perfect, no JJ destroying the Bruins and no Patriots in Super Bowl 49.

I believe that rule only applies to teams in competing cities. If you own multiple teams in the same city, no problem (Pegula, Bills and Sabres). If you own multiple teams in different, but not competing cities, you're OK too (Paul Allen, Seahawks and Trailblazers). Stan Kroenke had to dump his Denver properties (Avalance and Nuggets) when he bought into the LA Rams, of course he sold to his kids so they're still technically in the family, but since Denver has an NFL team he couldn't own the other sports teams in a competing city. Had he owned any combination of the Kings, Clippers, Lakers, and probably the Ducks he'd have been fine. So JJ could have owned both the Bruins and the Pats.

As always, fascinating stuff Fenway...can't really picture JJ owning the Pats. Seems the polar opposite of Kraft with that image of him bringing both sides together in last NFL lockout, as opposed to JJ who drives the NHL ones.

Rest in peace to the good reverend.

 

[Fossy21]

The NFL tweaks that if it serves their purpose. (see Bills and Sabres)

Hell, the Steelers and Giants are fairly intervowen with the Rooney/Mara family connections. While obviously not the same owner, that ought to be more against the rules than a guy owning a hockey team.

 

[Terrier]

1995 Frank McCourt wanted to build this on his parking lots in Southie.

Remember the proposed "new Fenway", squeezed between Brookline Avenue and Boylston Street?

http://www.stadiumpage.com/stpages/Newfen.html

 

[Fenway]

Remember the proposed "new Fenway", squeezed between Brookline Avenue and Boylston Street?

http://www.stadiumpage.com/stpages/Newfen.html

That could have happened but John Harrington didn't take Real Estate 101. The Red Sox should have quietly bought the real estate needed to control the footprint.

That is one thing current ownership has done.

20-30 years from now Fenway is going to be maxed out for life expectancy and the Red Sox now control the land on the north side of Boylston and Brookline Ave. Harrington never did.

 

[Bruins1233]

That could have happened but John Harrington didn't take Real Estate 101. The Red Sox should have quietly bought the real estate needed to control the footprint.

That is one thing current ownership has done.

20-30 years from now Fenway is going to be maxed out for life expectancy and the Red Sox now control the land on the north side of Boylston and Brookline Ave. Harrington never did.

Do you even know how much money Fenway pulls in? They run year round tours for $20.00 a ticket on the hour all day. Do you think Frozen Fenway would draw even 5,000 if it were anywhere else? "Football at Fenway" will be the highest attended game for UConn and UMass (despite facing an FCS team) next year, I guarantee it.
Fenway Park is a cash cow, they monetized Fenway so its a benifit not a drawback, unlike say Tiger Stadium.

 

[Fenway]

Do you even know how much money Fenway pulls in? They run year round tours for $20.00 a ticket on the hour all day. Do you think Frozen Fenway would draw even 5,000 if it were anywhere else? "Football at Fenway" will be the highest attended game for UConn and UMass (despite facing an FCS team) next year, I guarantee it.
Fenway Park is a cash cow, they monetized Fenway so its a benifit not a drawback, unlike say Tiger Stadium.

I know Fenway is a cash cow but even Fenway Sports Group is saying at best it has 30-40 years left.

 

[Judge Smails]

I know Fenway is a cash cow but even Fenway Sports Group is saying at best it has 30-40 years left.

If you were able to travel back in time and find the architects who designed Fenway Park, which would they have a harder time believing?

That you came from the future via a time machine.

-or-

Fenway Park was still standing in the year 2017 and hosting professional baseball.

 

[rfournier103]

Rest in peace, Father.

Thank you for your help on the Boston sports scene, and especially for your ministry of serving education.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.