The Sale/Purchase of Nationwide Arena

[cheap]

NDaEast said:
The propaganda pushed on us by public officials that this has to do with saving 8,000 jobs is bullsh*t.
This was simply a bailout of two failing business enterprises, and a $250M net loss to the taxpayers of the City of Columbus who are absorbing the loss of these private businesses.
To add insult to injury, this bailout comes on the heels of us citizens in good faith voting ourselves a 25% tax increase just two years ago, to fund basic city services (police and fire we were told).
Now we’ve got enough money to kick into entertainment ventures??!!??

evidently folks think a new flavor of ice cream is more important than the scam perpetrated on them by this city govt.
pretty lame.

[Buster Bluth]

Using stats from the worst part of the recession is just pathetic. I lol’d, but that’s still pathetic.

[NDaEast]

Buster Bluth said:
Using stats from the worst part of the recession is just pathetic. I lol’d, but that’s still pathetic.

Buster Bluth … do you have any better statistics? (Let me answer … “no.”) Do the City and County — which pushed this down our throats have any others? No, they don’t. It is what it is, bud, and here is the link: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml Don’t take my word, look it up yourself — there are no other years other than 2004 – 2009, I didn’t edit anything — those are the best and most reliable statistics out there and they were presented unalterated.

Let’s talk about statistics … 1) the OSU Glenn School study used by downtown to justify the bailout used ES 202 (employment) data from 2006 — that is the best data the city had in making this quarter billion dollar decision (the mid-date of my 2004-2009 period must really have been the heart of the recession!) ?!!?; and 2) the 2009 Buser study that attempts to “quantify” the impact of the Arena District says “the estimates summarized in Tables 1 and 2 do not identify or net out portions of Arena District tax revenues that are the result of existing businesses that relocate to the Arena District from other parts of the region, as distinct from new businesses that generate net new tax revenues.”

Since the power elites — after 3 years of working on this corporate bailout of the richest people in Columbus — can’t present any statistics of new economic development activity caused by the Arena District, we’ve got to ask is there any real justification for the City to have presented an economic development argument? And when the best and most independent statistics available can be found in a 5 minute search of the Internet and do not support an economic development argument — why wasn’t that information ever provided as a part of the Arena bailout discussion? In fact, the opposite was represented: it was the basis of the power elites’ public campaign.

The bottom line is that this community got fed a load of hooey in an effort to preserve local ownership of the Blue Jackets. We bailed out the richest of the rich, and we were fed easily refutable nonsense as justification.

So from the best statistics presented, to call the Arena District an economic engine is pure nonsense. The sad fact is that jobs and businesses both dropped nearly 10% in the zip code at the time of greatest growth of the Arena District. And the numbers reported by the City and other bailout supporters include existing business activity that moved from one part of the city to another.

Maybe we should all be asking, “why didn’t our elected leaders — you know, the ones we trust and pay to make good decisions on our behalf — tell us this?”

Now before you think I’m just a sports hater … let me tell you that I am a publicly funded sports arena supporter. I grew up going to “Cleveland MUNICIPAL Stadium” to watch the Browns and Indians all my youth. I played high school baseball and college football (Team Captain, Team MVP, All-League First Team). I am one of the minority of Columbusites who voted FOR a publicly funded arena. My son has played hockey for three years (continues to play) in the Blue Jackets’ outreach program and got invited to skate on the Blue Line with the Jackets players during the National Anthem. We have probably been to more Jackets games than most anybody on this board (almost always through promotional tickets — just like the rest of the crowd over the past two years). And oh yeah — we took pictures by the Stanley Cup when it was in a traveling display and came to town earlier this year (“better take a picture quick, son, it might be the last time you’ll see a Stanley Cup in Columbus”). So this isn’t a person who loaths sports, hockey, or the Blue Jackets — this is a person who believes that citizens deserve straight talk about a quarter billion dollar bailout — not spin from elected officials.

[NDaEast]

DavidF said:
Your employment numbers end at 2009, which coincidentally was I believe the height of the recession.

You’d get my credibility if you used current numbers, not seriously outdated ones.

OK, let’s look at the data before the recession in 43215 (2004-2006): loss of 1,944 jobs and 94 businesses. As per my post above, there is no more current data available. Can I get your credibility now? :-)

[MRipley]

NDaEast said:
OK, let’s look at the data before the recession in 43215 (2004-2006): loss of 1,944 jobs and 94 businesses. As per my post above, there is no more current data available. Can I get your credibility now? :-)

Only when you agree. :)

[pedex]

I worked at the arena for about 14 months, I wouldn’t wish that job on anyone. There’s an awful lot of very very low paying back breaking grunt work that goes on behind the scenes. SMG doesn’t pay anyone very much.

[DavidF]

NDaEast said:
OK, let’s look at the data before the recession in 43215 (2004-2006): loss of 1,944 jobs and 94 businesses. As per my post above, there is no more current data available. Can I get your credibility now? :-)

I don’t support the bailout, but that doesn’t mean I think using non relevant data helps build credibility or support. I’d be surprised to find many areas that don’t see a net loss of jobs during that period. That’s kinda why it’s called a recession.

So to answer your question. Nope. I’m not building an argument on this thread that needs to be supported. I think it’s a scam, but I ain’t gots me no infermation other than my gut feeling. ;)

[thirstychef]

pedex said:
I worked at the arena for about 14 months, I wouldn’t wish that job on anyone. There’s an awful lot of very very low paying back breaking grunt work that goes on behind the scenes. SMG doesn’t pay anyone very much.

Take it personal? much?

[cheap]

thirstychef said:
Take it personal? much?

well,he is speaking from experience.

i worked at Ohio center when it first opened 30 years ago.

it was hard work for shitty pay back then.

i sure it’s the same thing at Nationwide,if not worse.

but hey,that shitty job has been saved.lol

[misskitty]

O’Brien: Arena dealings must be public

Prosecutor says purchase contract may be amended

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said his office is reviewing the purchase contract of Nationwide Arena and will push for necessary changes to ensure the taxpayer-owned facility is operated in public view.

O’Brien was responding to a story in Sunday’s Dispatch that detailed plans to transfer control of the arena to a private, nonprofit group that would meet behind closed doors and shield documents from public disclosure. The prosecutor said he would review whether the group could avoid the state’s open-meeting and open-records laws. If it can, he said he would seek to amend the contracts for the arena to require that the arena’s operator follow those laws.

More Here…

Good

[pedex]

cheap said:
well,he is speaking from experience.

i worked at Ohio center when it first opened 30 years ago.

it was hard work for shitty pay back then.

i sure it’s the same thing at Nationwide,if not worse.

but hey,that shitty job has been saved.lol

ya people have no perspective of what goes on

A place like the Arena has an army of sub $9 an hour people that get no benefits or overtime and work nights mostly, sometimes 24hrs or more without a break. The turnover rate is almost 100% per year. Of course many of these same people are responsible for setting up the very equipment and stuff that the customers will be sitting in during shows/events. As the host for shows/events the event itself gets charged for this stuff and it isn’t all that much usually. The road crew is subcontracted out and local, they get paid more. The riggers are another contract and they do pretty well. At some events counting the cleaning crew(Aramark subcontract) there might be like 80 or so people running around. Most of the jobs aren’t anything you can make a living at. Most are very part time jobs. The handful in the Blue Jacket front office do ok, and a handful from SMG, the rest are basically disposable temporary labor. My boss almost every season late in the season after 1/2 or more of his crew had quit would have to hire from temp agencies all the time to cover setting up events that involved lots of work like football or basketball sets. SMG also runs the convention center and the same sort of deal happens there too. At an event like a hockey game, it only takes about 200-250 tickets to pay for the entire crew that sets up and runs the event. The rest of the $$ goes to the top of the pyramid.

[News]

These Jackets are getting to be more trouble than they’re worth
Thursday, May 24, 2012 11:13 am
by Jeff Long

They don’t miss a trick, these people, and I, for one, am tired of being played for a chump. The news that we won’t have any say in the operation of the arena we didn’t want is just the latest insult on top of the grand injury the Blue Jackets have dealt this town. If the people in charge of this team and this arena were merely indifferent to fans and taxpayers, just taking for granted that we’d support their alleged major-league operation and pay for the privilege— that would be one thing.

READ MORE: http://www.theotherpaper.com/news/article_f063a8a4-a5b2-11e1-82a5-001a4bcf887a.html

[News]

[MRipley]

So if the two best teams in Hockey are losing money and going on the market, that can’t be good news for the BJ’s or Nationwide Arena.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/Los-Angeles-Kings-New-Jersey-Devils-Stanley-Cup-finalists-for-sale-AEG-Corporation-Staples-Center-Jeffrey-Vanderbeek-053012

Looking more and more like the taxpayers got a royal screwing from city/county officials.

[cheap]

this town has been played like a sucker.

when the bluejackets fold,and the city is stuck with that dog called an arena

then downtown will really boom with the sound of a wrecking ball.

[Author]

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