“LET US BUILD THE DAMN THING”
Wang talks Lighthouse; 09 groundbreaking a no-go
5:20 pm - Jim Baumbach, Mark Herrmann, Greg Logan and Eden Laiken of Newsday sat down with Charles Wang today for 90 minutes. Here’s Jim’s first take on the meeting, and there will be more coverage ahead. First thing that’s pretty obvious: a Summer 2009 groundbreaking on the Lighthouse Project seems unrealistic…again.
Talk Lighthouse here, Witt suspension below.
55 Responses to “LET US BUILD THE DAMN THING”
Wang talks Lighthouse; 09 groundbreaking a no-go
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As long as they stay in NY, i’m happy. I just dont understand the Town of Hempsted. This guy wants to build using his own money and pay taxes out of his own pocket to the already hurting nassau county. It seems like a no brainer to everyone on the outside, but on the inside theres still delays. Some things i guess i’ll never understand..
However i’d rather they move to suffolk than queens =P Any likelyhood on that in your crystal ball CB?
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JayK says:
I give credit to Wang for taking off the gloves this week. I clicked on the link to the story about him checking out of the Plainview site, and the difference there is that he said he was reacting to public opposition. There was organized opposition to the Plainview project, but that still has yet to materialize on this one. But what needs to be remembered is that he pulled the plug on that one all of a sudden, without warning, when he finally said “enough.” Kate Murray can play chicken all she wants with the developers — remember, it’s not just Wang, it’s Rexcorp too — but she should not then be surprised if she suddenly gets a letter from them announcing they’ve decided to end their plans. She’ll blame “Mr. Wang…he could have developed the project years ago, you know, I told him that blah blah blah,” but there will then be absolutely no alternative development there. Even if Wang plays out his lease, that’s a mere six years. Big deal. They’ll be gone after that, and the Coliseum will be abandoned, as the county will refuse, rightly, to keep subsidizing a place that’s empty 320 nights a year. What a legacy she will have left us.
Wang’s plea is legitimate: the town needs to speak up. What do you want? Why won’t you just say “this is a great project and we want to see it happen,” like 95% of the other areas in the country, in this recession, would declare?
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Islanders1984 says:
avery being put on re entry waivers monday, i wonder if prucha will become avaiable
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I think Wang could go a long way to helping himself out if he is a little more transparent about where he’s getting the money to do this.
That seems the biggest issue in getting this thing approved.
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Madchef says:
Being an Islanders fan means u need to be a little masochistic.Outside of the Bailey, KO, Nielsen transition, when do we get some good news….Tavares maybe. Please my head can’t stop bleeding till I can stop banging it against the wall
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Chickendirt – that’s a completely media-created story. They’ve spoken all the time about getting financing from major banks. The big issue here is that the final scope has not been settled, so you can’t secure financing without a solid idea of the amount of money and the terms that you need to get the deal done.
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admin says:
(5) CDirt: Town approval has 0 to do with financing.
NYI have released statement on suspension. Updated in Witt thread…CB
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And in addition, about the financing. Does anybody really think the credit markets will look the same in the summer of 2010 when any reasonable person expects they’ll break ground?
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Chickendirt, he has said that he can’t lock in financing until he’s got the zoning change. There’s nothing to disclose, except the precise identity of who he is talking to. Any banks that were facing that sort of disclosure at this point would immediately back off.
It is not the biggest issue here. I haven’t even heard that. The biggest issue here is that certain people in the TOH have a vision of their town that was successful in the 60′s, and they can’t stop clinging to it.
Nassau County in the first half of this decade lost population. You know how hard that it is to do? By contrast, Oakland County in Michigan — north of battered Detroit, with its declining auto industry — gained population during the same time. That speaks to the rot that has beset this area. It’s time for leadership.
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Jimmy Mac says:
The money is there… let’s not worry about that.
TOH needs to step up as quickly as possible.
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Let’s not forget that we do have a long, protracted process ahead of us. The Town of Hempstead needs to move forward in a judicious but speedy manner, that’s really the end of it. We saw the speed with which the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was submitted, and expect that to continue in order to keep the ball in the court of either the Town or the County.
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Nick the county wants this project done, so there not holding anything up, as for the town who knows. Hopefully Newsday will become a big help to this projects approval. Thw pwer of the pres coudl go along way
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JPinVA says:
Why can’t Schumer write in an earmark to Obama’s stimulus package for asian-american developers with failing hockey teams to build extravagant apartment buildings.
there you go, financing issue done! -
How is he losing $20-30M per year. A conservative estimate says that he should be making about $20M(10k x 41 x $50) in ticket sales. the cable deal is about $15M(reported by Forbes), and lets just say he is getting $5M/yr in licensing fees from NHL products. That’s a $40M revenue stream. He has a $44M payroll. How much is he paying Milbury to keep those pictures in his safe?
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got to say it’s finally happening. i am finally getting so upset about the future of this team i have to start turning my head and not paying attention. 18 wins this season, another terrible season on the way, no support from the town to get the lighthouse approved… what is there to look forward to? we’ve been told time and time again that we wont be looking for FAs this summer. well, at least the rangers are a laughingstock. here’s to watching the mets blow it again.
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jP he doesn’t get any more for parking and I htink half for concessions, it could be the other way around. But thats two major places that Wang gets nothing and very little from. If its a 40 million revenue stream for what he makes, don’t forget he needs to have a cap over 40 million
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Dan says:
Jimmy Mac- Man I wish you where right but the money isnt there. There is no way in hell the lighthouse is getting built. Look at the market. Citibank stock is trading at 1.5. The commercial real estate market is melting down. That is the next bubble after subprime to pop and every institution knows it. The banks are officially gone, as for private capital forget it. Everyone is trying to raise capital to survive not to invest. No “investor” or bank will finance this. CB, I can pretty guarantee this project will not happen. Now please tell us the possible outcomes and how likely you see them.
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(15) JP in VA: that’s a surprisingly simplistic view from you. You seem to have left out a lot. And before you even go deeper, your own breakdown already has him paying his 23 hockey players more than he’s bringing in from his few major revenue streams!..CB
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Jp also, after paying the cap off, lets not forget he has to pay the rest of the non player staff, Thats goes from coaches down to the newest ice girl. Plus he has to pay for the teams travel and hotel expenses. And im willing to bet there are countless other little expenses that he has to cover. So its very easy to see how Wang loses 20m to 30 m every year
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Islanders1984 – Are you telling me Wang isn’t smart enough to use his frequent flyer miles on team travel????
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LOL Don’t mind the haters, Kate Murray stole his frequent flyer card and used all the miles for that vacation she went on this week
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CB while you were with the Islanders, did any of the players have any special things in there contracts, like a six pack of Bud had to be given to them after every game, or they get a car as a bonus.
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mouthwash says:
JPinVA, do you know anything about running a business? there are so many expenses that most people don’t even know about…
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Wang is not only using his money, but money from other investors.
Yes the economy is bad right now. But he doesn’t need it all at once.
Plus he will be getting money from other sources outside of the US if neccessary.
Other world banking institutes are fine.
The shovel won’t hit the dirt until next year.
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nickystix says:
I’m at the Boston University vs UMASS game right now and I will provide updates on the play of corey trivino and matt gilroy throughout the game. In warmups gilroy looks like an average AHL defensemen with some NHL upside. good shot. Just from warmups. Didn’t see much of trivino but he is a small forward with some speed. Well see more of them as the game goes on, hopefully.
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Hey nick!!!
Thanks for the reminder. I just popped on NESN to watch the game. Gilroy just had a good shift.
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cgs878 says:
No matter what any businessman says about not using public taxpayer funds, it ain’t true. They know how to milk the system to get the government $$ to finish the projects when “cost overruns” double/triple the total cost. Just look at the new baseball stadiums in Queens and da Bronx. You telling me that it won’t happen in Nassau County? Ha.
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CB(19) I was trying to be funny. But I do understand that he is losing money… and a ton of it. What irks me the most is that the ISLANDERS will lose money regardless of whether the Lighthouse is done or not. He’s no better than Millstein and Gluckstern… he just got farther because he had some political clout and was closer to the end of the lease.
Why can’t they separate the two?
Being tied to that area is killing the team, and having the owner of the team clinging to the development of the property is killing the development of the property.
That is the REALITY of the last 15 years.
If somebody else wants this team, and will make it work in NY, then I’d be all for it. If they have to move out of NY to make it work then all the people who have clung to Wang’s dream will be gravely disappointed.
I’d like to see it happen. I’m not confident that it will… and I think Charles will fall back on his pillow of money… and islander fans will have to get the center ice package to follow their team… where ever it is. AND THAT, MY FRIEND, SUCKS. -
Umass up 2-0 at the end of the first. I take back what I said about gilroy. Very good potential he looks good. I like trivinos speed and his offense. He had a nice deflection early on. Needs to work defensively. Please don’t take my word on these guys I’m no NHL scout but they do look good. Best player on the ice is BU’s wilson #33. I believe he’s either a projected top ten pick this year or was an early first rounder last year. Not sure
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Pat says:
I don’t understand why Wang dosen’t try and get some help from other local politicians. Or even better yet, with the state our economy is in at the present time and the fact that he will be putting roughly 50,000 people to work somehow get this info to the President.
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flyguy says:
Flyers fan here, but I wish you guys luck. The suburban way of life in this country is quickly becoming obsolete, and for good reason. This is exactly the type of development we need to have more of, all over the country.
But regarding this: “She’ll blame “Mr. Wang…he could have developed the project years ago, you know, I told him that blah blah blah,” but there will then be absolutely no alternative development there…. They’ll be gone after that, and the Coliseum will be abandoned, as the county will refuse, rightly, to keep subsidizing a place that’s empty 320 nights a year. What a legacy she will have left us.”
There will always be developers out there whose vision is to build more and more McMansions, big box stores, Cheesecake Factories, etc., and they tend to get a much better reception from your typical old-fashioned suburban politicians, the types who are only willing to approve development if it comes with a sea of parking. Perhaps that’s what Ms. Murray is banking on, should the Lighthouse fail.
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JP – I will not use the phrase that you attached to my previous responses to you on this subject.
First – where are your facts supporting the theory that the Islanders will lose money even if the Lighthouse is created? You’re correlating two unrelated things here; making money is not the same as making enough money to justify a $400 million arena investment (I am planning a blog post about this, where I actually crunched some numbers – I’m not plugging my site, just putting this in lieu of writing War and Peace and getting myself banned). As I have said ad nauseam (and ran through on my blog last month), stand-alone arenas only work when the taxpayers eat the cost. When the government rightly refuses to subsidize an arena, and the current situation is unsustainable (don’t even try to argue this – it is), the only plausible solution is to use the arena as a loss leader and develop the surrounding land.
As for these other owners – Charles Wang was the only one 9 years ago with the means and desire to keep the team in this area. What makes you think there will be other owners out there now? Until Jim Balsillie owns an NHL team I would not feel safe putting my troubled franchise up for sale and having any hope of actually keeping it here.
JayK also laid it out perfectly. People talk about Queens and Brooklyn like they’re plausible options. There is NO Queens offer. There is NO Brooklyn offer, and the fact that a politician happened to say it doesn’t erase the reality that the Brooklyn project is in far deeper trouble than the Lighthouse has ever been.
The Lighthouse is the best hope to keep the team where it is and competitive financially. There are no other owners riding in like a white knight; he came 9 years ago.
I didn’t assume ignorance or sluttiness, did I?
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flyguy (I know I’m bounced now) – There’s one missing piece to your point, though I 100% agree that the suburban way of life is unsustainable. Charles Wang and Scott Rechler grew up and built their businesses (OK, in Rechler’s case his FATHER built the business) on Long Island. If they fail, how many outside developers will line up thinking they can succeed?
Also – do you have any new news on Philly Live? I thought your arena was fantastic when I visited last season and was intrigued that your ownership is proposing a quasi-Lighthouse for the area.
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christian says:
CB i have a few questions concerning the lighthouse. let me start off by saying that iv been supporter of the project and continue to support it.But with the economy the way it is i fear that wang wont beable to come up with financing. i also see the nessecity for a project like this especially in uniondal,but how come TOH is dragging its feet and dumping everything on wang? And since there has been talk of the nets coming to new york how come they havent contacted them and tryed to bring them into the deal to sweeten the pot? and lastly what are the next steps foward toword this project become reality?
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It is pretty obvious that Wangs patience is wearing thin, can you blame him? I think the TOH does need to come out and publicly endorse this project sooner rather than later. They also have the ability to fasttrack this if they really wanted too!
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Goal by gilroy. 3-1 umass. I really like gilroys presence on the PP. Just college hockey tho
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Nick: Haven’t heard much about it lately, but the Spectrum is definitely still coming down on the appointed date, so I presume the project is still moving forward.
I’m actually a critic of our sports complex most of the time, on the theory that, although the interiors are beautiful, our teams are city teams and so the Wachovia Center and especially Citizens Bank Park should have been built closer to the heart of the city. (The Linc is more acceptable where it is.) The new project will definitely improve things greatly, but still. It’s one thing to build a new walkable center of a community that doesn’t yet have a center. It’s another thing to build one in an industrial site a few miles away from a vibrant 300-year-old downtown. In other words, we didn’t really need a new entertainment district, and we kind of missed an opportunity to make our existing one that much better.
But not in that order, of course. The opportunity to build in Center City was missed way back in the 90s. In the here and now, the project is definitely a positive development, and I’m excited about it.
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I always had this thought that the folks on the TOH board haven’t been greased enough. Why okay a project that will bring jobs, and revenue unless you can get some, right? Typical politicians. CB, I hope that isn’t the holdup.
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d-man says:
have you guys seen who sits on the board? we’re not talking about rocket scientists. maybe all of the paranoia is unfounded and these people are just overwhelmed and scared.
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Mikko Makela says:
i think wang should scale down the project! in this econamy i just think the project is a LITTLE too large. rebuild the coli and surronding area but not all at once. do it in stages over a 10 myr span. JMO from far away, would hate to see this frachise go on like this!
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CB:
Your blog about the Isles only having one of the top 100 prospects was a real eye opener for me. Should Isles fans have the confidence in this GM and this scouting department that they can turn various picks (not talking JT or Hedman) into NHL top 6 forwards/top 4 d-men?
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hey long islanders, when the vote comes out, please vote this time. 1 vote this time is actually make a differnecvde
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Mikko: it think that is the plan… it spans 10 years
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just went throuh the transcript on logan’s blog. im very optimistic this thing will get done! its to good of a project for EVERYBODY. d- man i would think if they can build the big dig in boston in 10 yrs this will take less time. imo
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Mikko (sorry for posting again), what d-man means is that the current plan is to build the project in phases and they expect the whole 150-acre development to be finished in 10 years. You’re right that they can’t just do it all at once, which is why the Coliseum and Canal Zone are Phase 1 and they’ll move on from there.
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Matt says:
At least we know that Wang, “enjoys the journey” with OUR team. Everyone that was sitting there saying “GO WANG” when he said what he said couple days ago where are you now? I don’t care if Wang brought the team this team is more mine and ours than he will ever know. What a shame what this is going to turn into. The funny thing on here is that half you guys cheer this wacko on! I love the people that are so blind that they actually say “I hope he moves the team”. What kind of fan can you possibly be? Is he so righteous that you think its ok? Like Wang has some pre-ordained right to the Islanders. He has done nothing but LIED to everyone from day one. This has nothing to do with the team or the fans WAKE UP!
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MiKe says:
Wang sounds annoyed. This does not bode well for us folks. We should be very wary. Deaf ears cant hear.
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You should wake up is right. What took you so long? Anyone that thinks this guy is for the team or fans needs to get their heads examined. This is all about his “project”. Pretty much building a new town in Hempstead. The Islandedrs are just an inconvenience to him.
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SIR WILLIAM says:
Nick, If 50,000 new jobs will be created where are they all going to park?…LOL……SW
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The Ice Man says:
Been a long-time since I lived on the Island (1985) or NY (1992) though was back in December 2007 for a few days and went to an Isles game. The area around the Coliseum is in need of some kind of development project and has been for years. Wang’s proposals are reasonable as “multi-use projects” are one of the few things that still seem to make sense in this economy. Financing will come as the credit markets are slowly returning to normal – the lenders I know are complaining that they have money to lend, but no one willing to step up and do a big project, so they are just swapping clients amongst each other. The Lighthouse is the kind of project that will need “new money” which is out there now, just not in a great supply. That should continue to get better. The real issue is the political culture in this country. All the damn bureaucrats are looking to get theirs off the top, so we’ll see if any of Obama’s “stimulus” actually makes it to the public.
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Well said #48. Do you guys know how many cases are pending against Wang in court from his days at CA when he basically stole $680 mill? You know the sec is still investigating him for accounting? Anyone why thinks anyone will lend Wang money is on Pluto
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It truly is funny how many fans have been fooled by this guy. It is a never ending stream of garbage coming from him. I find it especially funny how many “fans” say they would be ok with Wang moving the team if his plan doesn’t work out? After all who can blame him? The TOH was dragging their feet so go ahead Wang, destroy the history, the families of fans for years, and the memories because your real estate project didn’t work. What a joke.
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Duff Beer says:
Wang saved the Islanders (from Gutkowski and a new GM/arena) and deserves our support (if that means jockstrap) for his saving the team (from success). The town is taking too long (although state law requires a long time) and Wang is being wronged (by the town not going against regulations like he did with shareholders currently suing him) and should move the team (by saying he’ll sell, causing everyone to get emtional and cry that it’s all over and we can win again!).
Losing $30M a year is a great accounting trick….hope federal regulators don’t find out who does his books and send him to jail like all of Wang’s former employees. Cable revenue is not included as income.
Everytime there is a small piece of good news it is followed by bad news. I really hope that if Wang cannot get this done that he does in fact take the team to Queens which in turn keeps them in NY