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Business First of Columbus just came up with a survey that asks the question: "How important is it that Columbus retains the Blue Jackets hockey franchise?"
Please visit the site below to take the survey.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Sports
How important is it that Columbus retains the Blue Jackets?
[55 posts] [30 contributors]
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Analogue Kid
Olentangy West
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I'd say it's pretty important. We're not Seattle and really need every "branding" opportunity that comes with professional sports.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Doug Z
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chaptal wrote >>
I'd say those who invested, work in and own businesses in the Arena District think it's very important.Well said.
97.1 FM The Fan sports talk hosts Mike Ricordati and Scott Torgerson are opposed to a taxpayer bail-out as published in last week's Columbus Alive.
The politicians don't have any cover for a bail-out when even the sports talk guys employed by the Dispatch Media Group are opposed to the idea.
It was so obvious that two 20,000 seat arenas five miles apart is unsustainable. Why should the mistake of business titans be socialized?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Interesting.
I just got an email from the Columbus Blue Jackets asking me to fill out the survey.Dear Nationwide Arena Patron,
As you might be aware, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nationwide are working with local officials on a solution to an economic problem involving arena operating costs.
A recently released Ohio State University study highlighted the importance of finding a solution in order to continue the economic growth that has occurred since the arrival of the team, arena and Arena District.
Business First of Columbus is currently conducting its weekly Business Pulse Survey and this week's question is "How Important Is It That Columbus Retains The Blue Jackets Hockey Franchise?Posted 3 years ago # -
Lakee911
Clintonville (South)
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We really do have so many sport facilities in this city it is ridiculous. St John's, the Shoe, Nationwide Arena, Value City Arena, Cooper Stadium, Crew Stadium, Huntington Park, and I might have forgotten some. Nationwide Arena is one of the better though.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Nate
Suburbs
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While I'd like to see them stay, I'm not sure if they are going to be able to unless they can renegotiate their deal with Nationwide. Hopefully they can get something done. It would be a real waste to have the arena stand vacant aside from concerts and random events.
I also have a feeling Columbus would pitch to the NBA to try and get a team here if the Jackets were to leave.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Lanibug65
displaced
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The problem with an NBA team is Ohio already has one - the Jackets are the only NHL team in Ohio - Ohio already have two professional NFL teams, a NBA team - the one thing that Columbus has that Cleveland and Cinci doesnt have is the NHL team...we need to look at it that way.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Doug Z
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One of the plans to retain the Blue Jackets is for the county or city to take over Nationwide Arena so a higher percentage of parking and concession revenue streams go to the CBJ. That's a raw deal for taxpayers.
Taxpayers should get some of the CBJ or Nationwide's equity if they are expected to take on financial risk in any deal.
Posted 3 years ago # -
adrock
Grandview Heights
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a raw deal for the taxpayers especially because the people of central ohio had voiced their opinion over and over and did not want a hockey team or an arena downtown.
i don't see this any differently than if the casino gets built, goes bankrupt because it's a poor business plan from the start, and then purchased by the county because it's just too important to lose, even though no one here wanted it to begin with.
at this very moment, nationwide insurance is systemically scamming their customers for lots of money. they can take the hit on the stupid arena they wanted.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Doug Z
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rprpclark wrote >>
So if the team is losing money why do the players make laugh-out-loud salaries where they pay more in TAXES than most people make in a lifetime.The players are certainly over-paid. All of them would play for $200k rather than $2 million. But you can't blame them for getting what they can. The sports owners and management deserve most of the blame for stratospheric player salaries and high ticket prices.
The current CBJ/Nationwide Arena arrangement is an anomaly in pro sports.
Pro sports are one way that the tycoons enrich themselves at government expense, and stick taxpayers with the bill. It's a racket, I tell ya.
New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston lays it out in his book "Free Lunch."
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/18/free_lunch_how_the_wealthiest_americans
DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Well, it isn’t a function of belief, Amy. I’ve got the documents. President Bush, who will go down in history as the great tax cutter, owes almost all of his fortune to a tax increase that was funneled into his pocket. What happened is, an oil man named Eddie Chiles wanted to sell his money-losing Texas Rangers baseball team. They played in a little stadium, smaller than the one we have here in Rochester, New York, and of course couldn’t make any money. So George Bush put together a group of very wealthy investors to buy the team. He put up himself $600,000 of borrowed money. The partners then gave him a 10 percent stake as the managing partner. That’s a very common arrangement in business. Then they held a special election in January of the year in question to increase the sales tax in the town of Arlington, Texas, by one half-cent. That money was used to build a new baseball stadium. It’s an incredibly nice baseball stadium.
Then the power of government to seize land by eminent domain....<snip>
<snip>....And then when President Bush filed his tax return, he should have reported that the 10 percent share he had, the one that was given to him as compensation for being general manager, was wage income. And, of course, we tax wages at a higher rate than we do capital income, like capital gains. President Bush therefore shorted the government $3.4 million.... "
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/18/free_lunch_how_the_wealthiest_americans
Posted 3 years ago # -
ernesto
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adrock wrote >>
at this very moment, nationwide insurance is systemically scamming their customers for lots of money. they can take the hit on the stupid arena they wanted.Nationwide isn't losing money on the building, it's the Blue Jackets who are claiming to lose money. Nationwide owns the building, collects all revenue and charges the Jackets rent. Almost all new stadiums built in the US in the past nearly 20 years were financed with public dollars but the revenue streams go almost exclusively to the teams.
Thing is though, pro sports teams NEVER fully disclose their books so their claims are dubious at best. Paul Beeston, former VP of Business Operations for the Toronto Blue Jays once said "Under generally accepted accounting principals, I can turn a $4 million profit into a $2 million loss, and I can get every national accounting firm to agree with me." For instance, a team can claim a loss on the value of a player's contract because they are allowed to consider it a depreciating asset.
On top of that, the rights to the Jackets were bought for $80 million and now the team is valued at nearly double that. Doubling that big of an investment in just twelve years is an absurdly good return. If McConnell is really losing money, he should sell the team and collect the windfall coming his way. Sorry but I don't feel bad for billionaire team owners. They have a legal monopoly and if they can't make it work to their benefit, they shouldn't be in business.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Jimbo Jones
German Village
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I'm a hockey fan, so I think it's important to keep the CBJ here. If they leave, I don't think there's any chance that Columbus could attract an NBA team. It's because the Cavs are in Cleveland, and they would fight tooth and nail to prevent another team from taking away part of their fanbase (and rightly so, in my opinion).
Even if we did get an NBA team, I'm always going to be a Cavs fan.
Posted 3 years ago #
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