As NYCFC’s potential stadium project in the South Bronx supposedly teeters at the edge of collapse, Chris Campbell talked to the parties involved and found out that the stadium is not quite dead.
This is wonderful work, Chris. I wonder why the Club would think threatening a stadium in Queens is a credible threat to NYC. I would assume NYC would be relatively indifferent between the Bronx and Queens and that the local governments in either borough have little ability to "outbid" the other.
It would be interesting to analyze the financial impact of those "phantom" parking spots is. If the lowered number will only exceed the new capacity on 4 days a year and the difference is generously 800 spots, the value to the Yankees of a max 800 spots x 4 days x $40 a spot is a max of $125k per year?
If they were $100 per game Super VIP spots (and they aren't, at least in those garages), the value per year is $325k? How is a low 6-figure annual number enough to scuttle a deal of this size?
On your first point regarding Queens, it's not necessarily one borough outbidding the other, but moreso how badly this project is needed in the Bronx. And I want to be clear I can't speak too much to Queens as I simply haven't looked at available spaces there and tried to understand how badly certain development is needed. These garages/lots are so underutilized and redeveloping them into something that would actually be productive uses would be a huge boon for the local community here. On top of that, this project has been years in the making and a lot of dollars and effort spent already. Everybody wants it here, but I just think the club is showing they are willing to go elsewhere in order to apply pressure to others to come together on the terms here.
On the second part, remember that the Yankees don't own the lots/garages and don't actually receive any parking income. So it wouldn't be lost revenue on their side, it would just be fans that may now have to either park elsewhere, change to taking public transit, or decide not to come. There are other parking options outside of the YSPS garages, though I'm not sure what kind of capacity they have and I'm also not sure how often they are typically already being used on Yankee game days and can take on more cars. Additionally, what kind of impact does COVID have on all of this? Will Yankee game days be full in the near future? Maybe in the other direction, more people will want to drive in order to stay more socially distant from others and not take public transit. Or, maybe this also drives behavior going forward. People will ultimately figure out that maybe parking could be tough, so people end up deciding at some point that it just makes more sense to take public transit (either through their own decisions, or through their decision to not attend, and now someone else is attending instead and taking public transit).
This is wonderful work, Chris. I wonder why the Club would think threatening a stadium in Queens is a credible threat to NYC. I would assume NYC would be relatively indifferent between the Bronx and Queens and that the local governments in either borough have little ability to "outbid" the other.
It would be interesting to analyze the financial impact of those "phantom" parking spots is. If the lowered number will only exceed the new capacity on 4 days a year and the difference is generously 800 spots, the value to the Yankees of a max 800 spots x 4 days x $40 a spot is a max of $125k per year?
If they were $100 per game Super VIP spots (and they aren't, at least in those garages), the value per year is $325k? How is a low 6-figure annual number enough to scuttle a deal of this size?
This is wonderful work, Chris. I wonder why the Club would think threatening a stadium in Queens is a credible threat to NYC. I would assume NYC would be relatively indifferent between the Bronx and Queens and that the local governments in either borough have little ability to "outbid" the other.
It would be interesting to analyze the financial impact of those "phantom" parking spots is. If the lowered number will only exceed the new capacity on 4 days a year and the difference is generously 800 spots, the value to the Yankees of a max 800 spots x 4 days x $40 a spot is a max of $125k per year?
If they were $100 per game Super VIP spots (and they aren't, at least in those garages), the value per year is $325k? How is a low 6-figure annual number enough to scuttle a deal of this size?
On your first point regarding Queens, it's not necessarily one borough outbidding the other, but moreso how badly this project is needed in the Bronx. And I want to be clear I can't speak too much to Queens as I simply haven't looked at available spaces there and tried to understand how badly certain development is needed. These garages/lots are so underutilized and redeveloping them into something that would actually be productive uses would be a huge boon for the local community here. On top of that, this project has been years in the making and a lot of dollars and effort spent already. Everybody wants it here, but I just think the club is showing they are willing to go elsewhere in order to apply pressure to others to come together on the terms here.
On the second part, remember that the Yankees don't own the lots/garages and don't actually receive any parking income. So it wouldn't be lost revenue on their side, it would just be fans that may now have to either park elsewhere, change to taking public transit, or decide not to come. There are other parking options outside of the YSPS garages, though I'm not sure what kind of capacity they have and I'm also not sure how often they are typically already being used on Yankee game days and can take on more cars. Additionally, what kind of impact does COVID have on all of this? Will Yankee game days be full in the near future? Maybe in the other direction, more people will want to drive in order to stay more socially distant from others and not take public transit. Or, maybe this also drives behavior going forward. People will ultimately figure out that maybe parking could be tough, so people end up deciding at some point that it just makes more sense to take public transit (either through their own decisions, or through their decision to not attend, and now someone else is attending instead and taking public transit).
This is wonderful work, Chris. I wonder why the Club would think threatening a stadium in Queens is a credible threat to NYC. I would assume NYC would be relatively indifferent between the Bronx and Queens and that the local governments in either borough have little ability to "outbid" the other.
It would be interesting to analyze the financial impact of those "phantom" parking spots is. If the lowered number will only exceed the new capacity on 4 days a year and the difference is generously 800 spots, the value to the Yankees of a max 800 spots x 4 days x $40 a spot is a max of $125k per year?
If they were $100 per game Super VIP spots (and they aren't, at least in those garages), the value per year is $325k? How is a low 6-figure annual number enough to scuttle a deal of this size?