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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
"If you want to go see a game at the Coliseum you better have a car..."
And of course, no one on Long Island has those.
If you want to improve transit fortunes, build an Arena Station and extend Link to the Junction. Everyone wins and it forms the base for a future expansion which would serve far more people and have a longer legacy than the arena.
Fuck the NBA and the NHL. Our port and our local manufacturing base is more important.
2. if it's such a no risk deal, why can't hansen get private funding for all of it?
3. if putting money into this is "good" -- culturally, socially, economically -- how does that show it's better than putting money into schools, roads, broadband, health?
4. shouldn't we sort of have a bias against subsidizing private billionaires and millionaires who stand to reap hundreds of millions in profits not to mention the fact this whole sport thing is just a way for legally enforced monopolies to rip off taxpayers all over the usa? and to jack up player salaries? the whole thing is a one percenter scam to rip off the public much like wall street bailours. we pay; we get crumbs; they get BILLIONS.
oh wait, our government exists to fool faux progressives into supporting one percenter socialism schemes.
BD Gallof has had some very good information and sources on the Islanders situation on his twitter and his NY CBS local articles. Brooklyn right now may be the best bet in spite of the arena if the Barclay Center people give Wang the kind of revenue he wants on the seating and the luxury boxes. I think if the arena is approved, Seattle is in play if the Barclays Center offer falls through or if the NHL wants to expand.
As far as the Islanders drawing on LI, I tend to think that the problem is more of the economy and a belief that they're not quite good enough to support--they filled the place up during their Stanley Cup runs, but maybe now the combination of high LI taxes, city area wide recessionary conditions, and mediocre finishes have caught up to them.
And I find it hard to believe that folks who would otherwise take the train to Safeco would choose to drive to the arena rather than walk an extra two or three blocks.
In my heart of hearts, I think I probably agree with you that Portland would struggle to support a franchise on it's own, even if there's evidence to suggest otherwise.
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog…
I guess in my goofball fantasy reality though, what I'd really like to see is a high speed rail option that'd serve the two cities and give us a real & unique regional/cultural identity. Guy can dream can't he?
I believe there are one or two groups in the Seattle area that want to bring a franchise here plus the Chicago Wolves guy Levin.
#3
http://www.nassaucoliseum.com/ViewArticl…
And who's going to pay for that? Certainly not the city which is already going to be saddled with a $200 million bond and no new revenue since all arena proceeds will pay off that bond.
And you have no right to tell us we have to pay higher property taxes to benefit multimillionaires.
Nassau Coliseum
(Special Non-Escorted Package)
For Travel on Nassau Coliseum Event Dates Only
http://www.mta.info/lirr/getaways/LongIs…
In what world is "up and over a gargantuan rail overpass, then down, around, between, and under a labyrinth of highway access ramps, then miss your train because the crossing gates to the center platform lower comically early" translate to you as "right across the street"?
An unpleasant walk is an unpleasant walk, and this proposal adds additional distance to what is already an unpleasant walk. I use the train to the stadiums, but I fully understand why many don't. (Meanwhile, I always take the bus to the Showbox SoDo in the winter, which is how far south the stadium proposal actually is. Buses will not scale for 18,000 attendees.)
I love the idea that in the future Seattle will be a series of featureless covered walkways across freeways, and people will be so excited because it's sports.
@13, I'm a Sounders fan, and I use that stadium, but I opposed it when it was proposed and voted against it.
If it's such a short and walkable walk, then let's give it a try. Goldy, do you want to organize this for us?
Here's what the walk would be from Sodo Station to what I think is the NBA/NHL site:
http://goo.gl/maps/QD3A
Seems like it would almost be closer to walk from Stadium Station.
Sounder would require backtracking of course, or a bus (or taxi -- like with the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum).
21:
So what do you think of the corkscrew walkway from LINK to Safeco field?
Steinbrueck nailed it. As usual, no one here is listening. Because McGinn managed to bribe his progressive base with promises. (Right Tim Harris?)
Lived there. It's an hour away.
Or take a cab or bus...just like they do at Nassau Coliseum.
It may not be the most pleasent walk but I really don't see how it could get any closer and frankly I think it's sad that people bitch about walking one mile and even compare it to climbing a moutain.
You're gonna to sit for the next three hours, a little stroll will do wonders for you.
The other thing to remember is that NYC is full of transplants who'd love to go see that one game where their old team comes to town. Right now they can choose to take a single subway ride to MSG or the PATH train over to Jersey, or figure out how in the hell a Manhattanite without a car can figure out how to get to the middle of Long Island and back. Which do you think they choose?
Place is a shit hole in the middle of a parking lot between a couple of freeways. Last time I was there there were puddles a few inches deep on the concourse.
Also, no one goes because they have sucked ever since the dynasty that won 4 titles in a row 30 years ago.
Philadelphia to Nassau County in an hour????
Maybe by helicopter. I'd be amazed if anything land-based could make the trip in even twice that amount of time.
It's about 90 miles from Center City to Midtown. Then a change of train or bus (plus associated wait-time) at Penn Station or Port Authority, and finally the sloooow trip to wherever the hell Nassau Coliseum is located.
No shit, Philly isn't a NY team. Find me where I said that dongwad. I said the region was oversaturated by NHL teams, as evidenced by the fact that the Islanders don't draw (and sure you can make the case that they don't draw b/c they suck. Though a decent fanbase supports their team regardless.)
@36, you're right -- was definitely underestimating the commute, though 90 miles on the turnpike is imminently doable in an hour & a half.
Cumulative economic data disproving any link between stadium construction and economic growth? Ignored.
Precedent of multiple defunct (Kingdome) or "inadequate" (KeyArena) facilities on which we still own debt? Dismissed.
Snake oil? Swallowed.
30th Street Station and Midtown Manhattan are only 65-70 minute from one another on the ACELA, or 85 minutes on the Amtrak Regional train.
Let's do like that guy in Grassroots said,
And build a Monorail!