The developers of the downtown Reno baseball stadium and the Reno City Council are "playing ball".
The council agreed Wednesday evening to loan the developers money to build an entertainment district.
The council voted 4-1 to loan the developers between $1million and $2.5 million a year - for 20 years. The money comes from redevelopment district property taxes.
The developers - SK Baseball and Nevada Land, plan to use the money to finance an entertainment district alongside the baseball stadium. The area would contain restaurants, nightclubs, and an outdoor events plaza in front of the stadium on east 2nd Street.
Responding to how he could assure that the taxpayers dollars, would be well spent, Reno Aces Managing Partner Stuart Katzoff says, "Well...we can debate whether its taxpayers dollars...we have over $60 million of our own money in this project, so I would say that we are putting our money where our mouth is."
Jessica Sferraza, the only council member who voted against the plan, says, now is not the time to take such risks.
Mayor Bob Cashell, on the other hand, calls the entertainment district plan "Reno's stimulus package."
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Sarpy ballpark is closer to reality
Sarpy County's ballpark negotiator, Kermit Brashear, has hammered out a tentative deal with the Omaha Royals on a lease and use agreement for a proposed suburban stadium.
Brashear emerged from a 70-minute closed meeting with Sarpy County Board members Tuesday and said an agreement is all but secured.
"We're at 9.95 on a scale of 10," he said.
The parties have been in exclusive negotiations since Dec. 3 on a 25-year agreement to bring the team and a new stadium to Sarpy County after the 2010 season, and the deadline for the negotiations is fast approaching.
Royals President Alan Stein on Tuesday night said he was optimistic about reaching a deal, but he spoke in more cautious tones.
"We're still negotiating," Stein said. "There's been nothing signed."
Stein said he could offer no specifics on the agreement. The public, however, could learn about it next week. Brashear said the lease and use agreement would most likely be on the agenda for next week's board meeting.
Joni Jones, chairwoman of the Sarpy board, said the agreement is "phase one" of the county's effort to attract the Royals.
"There are a lot of other phases to come," Jones said. Negotiations behind closed doors have been taking place with the Royals for months. "There may be a jot or a twittle here and there, but we're very, very close," said Brashear. Board members expect to approve the tentative deal with the ball club by next week November 2005, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce hired Brailsford and
Dunlavey, a consultant specializing in baseball stadiums and the economic impact of stadiums, to
study the potential of a new North Downtown baseball stadium. The purpose of this study was to
objectively evaluate the economic impact
and viability of a new community
baseball stadium to be located in the
North Downtown Study Area, an 80
block area located in the
Cuming/Abbott Drive corridor between
the Riverfront and Creighton
University. Additionally, the study was
to evaluate the expected catalytic effect of the stadium being built in North Downtown and
quantify the economic impact of such development.
All analyses done in this study started with the assumption that necessary resources for
current and future needs at Rosenblatt would be met. Omaha mayoral candidate Hal Daub has his own ideas for a stimulus package to help Omaha, and one key component is the city's longtime AAA baseball team.
Daub said Monday that if he's elected this spring, he hopes to persuade the Omaha Royals to play at the city's new downtown baseball stadium.
The Royals have long contended that Omaha's new 24,000-seat stadium would be a poor fit for the team, which wants a smaller stadium with more family-friendly amenities.
Mayoral candidate Jim Vokal's campaign called Daub's remarks "dishonest,'' since chances are slim that the Royals will end up downtown. Daub's campaign fired back, saying Daub had made no promises and that the criticism was a "vague, negative'' attack.
Monday's exchange stemmed from a morning press conference at which Daub outlined a 10-year plan for boosting the city's economy. Retaining the Royals would be good for Omaha because it would keep visitors and revenues in the city, he said.
Daub's other major opponent, City Councilman Jim Suttle, said he also favors keeping the team in Omaha if that's possible.
Brashear emerged from a 70-minute closed meeting with Sarpy County Board members Tuesday and said an agreement is all but secured.
"We're at 9.95 on a scale of 10," he said.
The parties have been in exclusive negotiations since Dec. 3 on a 25-year agreement to bring the team and a new stadium to Sarpy County after the 2010 season, and the deadline for the negotiations is fast approaching.
Royals President Alan Stein on Tuesday night said he was optimistic about reaching a deal, but he spoke in more cautious tones.
"We're still negotiating," Stein said. "There's been nothing signed."
Stein said he could offer no specifics on the agreement. The public, however, could learn about it next week. Brashear said the lease and use agreement would most likely be on the agenda for next week's board meeting.
Joni Jones, chairwoman of the Sarpy board, said the agreement is "phase one" of the county's effort to attract the Royals.
"There are a lot of other phases to come," Jones said. Negotiations behind closed doors have been taking place with the Royals for months. "There may be a jot or a twittle here and there, but we're very, very close," said Brashear. Board members expect to approve the tentative deal with the ball club by next week November 2005, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce hired Brailsford and
Dunlavey, a consultant specializing in baseball stadiums and the economic impact of stadiums, to
study the potential of a new North Downtown baseball stadium. The purpose of this study was to
objectively evaluate the economic impact
and viability of a new community
baseball stadium to be located in the
North Downtown Study Area, an 80
block area located in the
Cuming/Abbott Drive corridor between
the Riverfront and Creighton
University. Additionally, the study was
to evaluate the expected catalytic effect of the stadium being built in North Downtown and
quantify the economic impact of such development.
All analyses done in this study started with the assumption that necessary resources for
current and future needs at Rosenblatt would be met. Omaha mayoral candidate Hal Daub has his own ideas for a stimulus package to help Omaha, and one key component is the city's longtime AAA baseball team.
Daub said Monday that if he's elected this spring, he hopes to persuade the Omaha Royals to play at the city's new downtown baseball stadium.
The Royals have long contended that Omaha's new 24,000-seat stadium would be a poor fit for the team, which wants a smaller stadium with more family-friendly amenities.
Mayoral candidate Jim Vokal's campaign called Daub's remarks "dishonest,'' since chances are slim that the Royals will end up downtown. Daub's campaign fired back, saying Daub had made no promises and that the criticism was a "vague, negative'' attack.
Monday's exchange stemmed from a morning press conference at which Daub outlined a 10-year plan for boosting the city's economy. Retaining the Royals would be good for Omaha because it would keep visitors and revenues in the city, he said.
Daub's other major opponent, City Councilman Jim Suttle, said he also favors keeping the team in Omaha if that's possible.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Stan Kasten vs Gwinnett County and USOC chief offers surprising resignation
in 1988 Stan Kasten, president of the Atlanta Braves, said Friday that he is "in serious discussions" to move the baseball team from downtown to an open-air stadium in Gwinnett County, perhaps as early as the 1991 season. The Braves have a lease to play in the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium until the end of 1990, and Mr. Kasten said Friday that it is unlikely that the baseball organization will renew its lease with the stadium.
Instead, Mr. Kasten said he is seeking to move in 1989 that if the Georgia Dome is built, there is little chance the baseball team will stay in downtown Atlanta. "If the dome is reality, then the Braves are outta here," Mr. Kasten said. Jim Scherr resigned as the chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee today, an awkwardly timed move that comes with the federation attempting to shore up its finances while bidding to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.
Scherr will be replaced on an interim basis by Stephanie Streeter, a member of the USOC board of directors. Streeter described the move as a way to bring a different "set of skills" to the top of the USOC's salaried staff.
During a 25-minute teleconference with reporters, neither she nor USOC chairman Larry Probst did anything to debunk the notion that Scherr was eased out after more than six years on the job, the first two on an interim basis.
"It was mutually decided upon by both parties," Probst said, as he and Streeter declined three times to say whose idea it was.
Scherr was not on the conference call and did not return messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment.
The power shift started to emerge at the USOC board meeting Tuesday, the same day Scherr announced the USOC must trim up to 15 percent of its staff as a way of paring $7.1 million from its 2009 budget.
Streeter, who has been on the board for 4½ years, said she had the tools to deal with some of the new challenges facing the USOC -- the economy, a changing media climate and a more difficult sponsorship atmosphere.
Scherr will leave more than six years after taking over at the USOC, where he helped the federation streamline a bulky governing structure and regain a reputation that was sullied in the wake of the Salt Lake City Olympics bid scandal.
He oversaw a period of growth and success at the USOC that included significant decreases in administrative costs and a doubling in direct contributions to athletes. Meanwhile, the U.S. team succeeded in the Olympics, most recently winning a games-high 110 medals in Beijing in a year in which most people thought the hosts would beat the United States. It has been, by almost every measure, the most successful six-year period in the federation's history.
"Jim brought a lot of stability to the movement over the past few years," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "He had what I'd call an even-keeled perspective in addressing issues and he kept the interest of the athletes at the forefront of his decision making."
The timing of the move did raise questions.
The USOC is moving into the final stages of helping with the bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. The SportAccord, an international gathering of sports dignitaries, including those from the International Olympic Committee, is set for later this month in Denver with all four finalists scheduled to present their pitches for the games. In early April, the IOC makes its bid visit to Chicago -- the most important meeting before the games are awarded in October.
One of the USOC's biggest challenges over the past few years has been to establish a sense of continuity in its organization, so international types will feel more comfortable with leaders of the richest and largest Olympic federation in the world.
Scherr was, of course, a key part of that leadership team, but he'll soon be leaving. By contrast, the USOC recently rewrote its bylaws to keep Peter Ueberroth on in an honorary capacity after his term as chairman ended last year.
Streeter said continuity is important, but stressed the equal importance of "making changes to address the needs of the organization for the future." She said her board membership sine 2004 offers a level of continuity, as does Sherr's agreeing to be assist the transition to her leadership. "I don't see a huge impact on the bid or the USOC," she said.
Instead, Mr. Kasten said he is seeking to move in 1989 that if the Georgia Dome is built, there is little chance the baseball team will stay in downtown Atlanta. "If the dome is reality, then the Braves are outta here," Mr. Kasten said. Jim Scherr resigned as the chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee today, an awkwardly timed move that comes with the federation attempting to shore up its finances while bidding to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.
Scherr will be replaced on an interim basis by Stephanie Streeter, a member of the USOC board of directors. Streeter described the move as a way to bring a different "set of skills" to the top of the USOC's salaried staff.
During a 25-minute teleconference with reporters, neither she nor USOC chairman Larry Probst did anything to debunk the notion that Scherr was eased out after more than six years on the job, the first two on an interim basis.
"It was mutually decided upon by both parties," Probst said, as he and Streeter declined three times to say whose idea it was.
Scherr was not on the conference call and did not return messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment.
The power shift started to emerge at the USOC board meeting Tuesday, the same day Scherr announced the USOC must trim up to 15 percent of its staff as a way of paring $7.1 million from its 2009 budget.
Streeter, who has been on the board for 4½ years, said she had the tools to deal with some of the new challenges facing the USOC -- the economy, a changing media climate and a more difficult sponsorship atmosphere.
Scherr will leave more than six years after taking over at the USOC, where he helped the federation streamline a bulky governing structure and regain a reputation that was sullied in the wake of the Salt Lake City Olympics bid scandal.
He oversaw a period of growth and success at the USOC that included significant decreases in administrative costs and a doubling in direct contributions to athletes. Meanwhile, the U.S. team succeeded in the Olympics, most recently winning a games-high 110 medals in Beijing in a year in which most people thought the hosts would beat the United States. It has been, by almost every measure, the most successful six-year period in the federation's history.
"Jim brought a lot of stability to the movement over the past few years," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "He had what I'd call an even-keeled perspective in addressing issues and he kept the interest of the athletes at the forefront of his decision making."
The timing of the move did raise questions.
The USOC is moving into the final stages of helping with the bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. The SportAccord, an international gathering of sports dignitaries, including those from the International Olympic Committee, is set for later this month in Denver with all four finalists scheduled to present their pitches for the games. In early April, the IOC makes its bid visit to Chicago -- the most important meeting before the games are awarded in October.
One of the USOC's biggest challenges over the past few years has been to establish a sense of continuity in its organization, so international types will feel more comfortable with leaders of the richest and largest Olympic federation in the world.
Scherr was, of course, a key part of that leadership team, but he'll soon be leaving. By contrast, the USOC recently rewrote its bylaws to keep Peter Ueberroth on in an honorary capacity after his term as chairman ended last year.
Streeter said continuity is important, but stressed the equal importance of "making changes to address the needs of the organization for the future." She said her board membership sine 2004 offers a level of continuity, as does Sherr's agreeing to be assist the transition to her leadership. "I don't see a huge impact on the bid or the USOC," she said.
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