In a recent interview with the New York Times, former New Jersey Senator and Knicks legend Bill Bradley opined that the Nets should be moving to Newark and not to Brooklyn. He cited the failure of Bruce Ratner, Nets owner and real estate mogul, to get financing lined up to start the project as a sign that the Brooklyn idea is a bad one.
“Maybe it takes something like that to bring people to their senses,” Bradley said. “They don’t belong in Brooklyn. They belong in New Jersey. They belong here.”
It's a crucial time for the Brooklyn project. Last Friday, the New York Appellate Division ruled in Ratner's favor in a suit brought by Brooklyn property owners who argued that the state was wrong to use eminent domain to seize land for the arena's construction. That clears the way for Ratner to receive tax-free bonds to build the arena, and Ratner said he anticipates breaking ground before the year is over. He's made such promises many times in the past, but there appear to be greater consequences if he fails to get things off the ground once again this time around.
According to the Times, the eligibility for tax-free financing expires at the end of the year and his lucrative naming rights deal with Barclays Bank requires him to start construction before the end of 2009. If the Appellate Division ruling is appealed, as expected, delays could push the start date beyond the end of the year, which would throw the project even further into doubt. And that's if Ratner can even find the other necessary financing to get the project going which, as Bradley intimated, is far from a sure thing.
Where would that leave the Nets? Not necessarily in Newark. If Ratner doesn't get to move them to Brooklyn, he'll almost certainly look to sell the team, which could mean they wind up playing somewhere else entirely. Newark's Mayor Cory Booker raised that possibility before Friday's court ruling, saying that he didn't think the Brooklyn deal would get done and that it was time for "Newark to get into that game."
Bradley would be a good person to get in touch with if Booker wants his city in the game. The former senator is now a managing director at Allen & Company, an investment bank, and would be a good man to use to find some pockets deep enough to take the team off of Ratner's hands.
Seattle and Kansas City have been discussed as possible landing spots for a wayward Nets team, a relocation that seemed impossible when all the talk of the Brooklyn Nets began more than five years ago. Regardless of your opinion about where in the area the team should play, it would represent a failure of all involved if they ended up in one of those cities.
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Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
