bluecountry
09-23-09, 12:42 AM
If this the case....several questions.
1) What does this mean for the Nets? Why do they need another investor?
-Does this make the Brooklyn project more likely?
2) How likely is it the Brooklyn project is done?
3) If the Nets do move to Brooklyn, what would the impact be on the NBA in New York and the Knicks?
-As opposed to football and baseball, there is no major number two team in the market.
-Would a team in Brooklyn make the Nets a legitimate contender for the Knicks in the market like the Mets are?
MOSCOW -- Russia's richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, has made a takeover bid for the New Jersey Nets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=njn), the tycoon confirmed on his blog on Tuesday.
Prokhorov, a former nickel mining baron, boasts that if his move is successful, it would be the first time a National Basketball Association club would come under foreign control.
Prokhorov's proposals, sent to existing Nets shareholders over the weekend, would see his Onexim group provide a loan to build a substantial part of a new arena, according to a post on his Web site.
Mikhail Prokhorov, seen in 2008, has an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion.
Onexim would also receive a controlling stake of the NBA team for a "symbolic" price, the post said. Sources close to the billionaire have previously estimated the overall value of any deal at $700 million.
"For our Onexim group the realization of this very lucrative business project, whose participation was made possible by the world crisis [never in history have foreigners owned an NBA club], is another interesting sports development," Prokhorov wrote.
Developer Bruce Ratner owns the Nets, which Forbes magazine in December ranked as the 26th most valuable of the 30 NBA teams, with an estimated value of $295 million.
The club plans to move from New Jersey to a new arena in Brooklyn.
In addition, Ratner's company, Forest City Ratner, proposes constructing 16 office and apartment buildings, as well as upgrading subway, utility and other infrastructures as part of a larger project.
Legal disputes, financing problems and challenges from local community groups have dogged the project for years. In June, Ratner dropped architect Frank Gehry to cut costs, further irking critics as Gehry's design was a key factor in winning public support for the project in the first place.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4494932
1) What does this mean for the Nets? Why do they need another investor?
-Does this make the Brooklyn project more likely?
2) How likely is it the Brooklyn project is done?
3) If the Nets do move to Brooklyn, what would the impact be on the NBA in New York and the Knicks?
-As opposed to football and baseball, there is no major number two team in the market.
-Would a team in Brooklyn make the Nets a legitimate contender for the Knicks in the market like the Mets are?
MOSCOW -- Russia's richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, has made a takeover bid for the New Jersey Nets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=njn), the tycoon confirmed on his blog on Tuesday.
Prokhorov, a former nickel mining baron, boasts that if his move is successful, it would be the first time a National Basketball Association club would come under foreign control.
Prokhorov's proposals, sent to existing Nets shareholders over the weekend, would see his Onexim group provide a loan to build a substantial part of a new arena, according to a post on his Web site.
Mikhail Prokhorov, seen in 2008, has an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion.
Onexim would also receive a controlling stake of the NBA team for a "symbolic" price, the post said. Sources close to the billionaire have previously estimated the overall value of any deal at $700 million.
"For our Onexim group the realization of this very lucrative business project, whose participation was made possible by the world crisis [never in history have foreigners owned an NBA club], is another interesting sports development," Prokhorov wrote.
Developer Bruce Ratner owns the Nets, which Forbes magazine in December ranked as the 26th most valuable of the 30 NBA teams, with an estimated value of $295 million.
The club plans to move from New Jersey to a new arena in Brooklyn.
In addition, Ratner's company, Forest City Ratner, proposes constructing 16 office and apartment buildings, as well as upgrading subway, utility and other infrastructures as part of a larger project.
Legal disputes, financing problems and challenges from local community groups have dogged the project for years. In June, Ratner dropped architect Frank Gehry to cut costs, further irking critics as Gehry's design was a key factor in winning public support for the project in the first place.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4494932