Dolan's use their media against gullible NYI fans to sell Cuomo/Dolan taxpayer ponzi-scheme arena

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/19/2017 10:56:00 AM |
Not a fan of these entries, my preference would be to only write about hockey.
Are NYI fans still really this gullible?

Some sure are...............

Imagine if our teams games got all this print/tv coverage, instead of one beat-writer who always does the bare minimum?

Sure would not have hurt the attendance.

Dolan state of the art journalism which in this case is a non-stop machine to create their own narrative.

It's not my agenda.
Our fans are entitled to some honesty.

I will let them prove my point with their own words. 

130+ other sports team don't have their rival run their primary newspaper behind a paywall since 2008 with biased print coverage, a television contract through 2031 (costing Dolan hundreds of millions) that hides almost 1/4 games on a channel no one can find, bid for the Coliseum in 2013 to put a Ranger AHL team there in 2013 with preseason games & now want to be our teams new landlord in his Belmont arena, among what has gone on back to 1998 when games were pulled off television without explanation.

What's next the Dolan's who could not fork over 50k for the Islanders beating the Rangers over the Metro Ice Challenge a decade ago now want to give our team an arena in the middle of nowhere just to get them out of NYC because they are the teams friends?

Why can't some people simply be honest & admit a company that lives off taxpayers/politicians like Andew Cuomo & Shelly Silver have an agenda to drive their competition out of NY entirely to regain territorial rights, and put hundreds of millions in cable television money back in their bank. 

Someone has to present an honest narrative about our team & what's going on so I write what need's to be written.

The word Dolan is off limits for Randi Marshall, Robert Brodsky, Jim Baumbach, Hank Winnicki.

Staple, no doubt got an e-mail from sports editor Winnicki for this one:
What metric does this fall under again?

Factual evidence is very good.

I have written about Islanders poor attendance in Nassau for years, and again will write if the fan support was there I would submit an NHL team can succeed there. Clearly it cannot as every NHL team needs to play inside in a major city to make enough revenue to survive, with the real estate projects like Edmonton, Detroit got with huge taxpayer money.

Dolan wanted both in 2013 which is one reason why he lost the Coliseum bid.

Has Dolan ever paid for anything without taxpayer money? Wang in 2011 got zero development rights to HUB.


We saw this game from Dolan's paid media in 2011 with the $58.00 tax hammered home to defeat a referendum so Dolan could bid for the Coliseum in 2013 with Newsday writers not even allowed to mention his name.

Randi Marshall hates being challenged, she runs from her past articles.

I could have produced a dozen more like this. 

In 2017 she's on Pat Dolan's editorial board & selling the Dolan/Cuomo narrative at Belmont & Penn Station, the same day.

Marshall was on the Empire State Development list to visit Belmont site with potential bidders.
Marshall has no clue how this is being financed, but can't wait to move it forward, unlike 2011.
Peter Luukko (correct spelling) who worked for Flyers, Panthers.
We have seen it from Dolan's employees since he lost his bid to Ratner in 2013 to prosecute the NEC lease while Dolan's pocket's are filled by Andrew Cuomo refusing to revoke Dolan's tax exemption in Manhattan on the Chase Garden, as Cuomo works to renovate Penn Station (via taxpayers) & keep Dolan's operating permit extended in perpetuity with his tax exemption.

And we see it almost daily from Dolan's media spin-machine to influence gullible Islander fans or those who want to go back to failed Long Island with lower attendance than Barclay's. (without Sat games)

We saw this scam in 2011, 2013, we see it again, it's not honest. This is to get Dolan his revenge arena or force out NEC/Prokhorov or run out the clock at Barclay's.

The NYI have never received a dime from the taxpayers. Msg has received one since 1982 that now comes to about fifty million dollars a year straight from the taxpayers.


But here they go again:
As usual they leave out Dolan/NHL approval would have been necessary from 2013 because they can't mention Dolan in the family newspaper.

And now it's time to sell a joke narrative one preseason game on a Sunday afternoon in September erases decades of fans staying home win or lose to get Dolan his Belmont arena to be the Islanders landlord via Cuomo/taxpayers.

All hands on deck, including Brian Compton, who's Ranger media bosses at NHL.com (John Dellapina, Frank Brown) can replace him with many out of work hockey writers.
Baumbach of Arbour's 740th win should not count fame, and Rangers commute to Greenberg is in the other direction is not as bad,  rewarding loyalty for Dolan taking him back after quitting Newsday in April 2010 for the Journal.
 Baumbach did not last one article in 2010 at Journal.






The part where Tavares talked about making it work at Barclay's did not make Dolan's paper or Compton's article, but was in the NY Post of all places.


Meanwhile Dolan may sue the Clippers owner for putting a new arena next to the one the taxpayers helped renovate for him in 2013, and blame the mayor. Things like this are off-limits for Marshall, Brodsky, Baumbach, Winnicki which is the only arena Dolan renovated (without Albany) as we wait and see what happens with his RFP win in Seattle where taxpayer money is needed. 




For now this game will continue, perhaps Dolan can get Nassau to revoke NEC lease which means this Belmont RFP goes away. 

Meanwhile they continue to prosecute their 2013 loss.

Mangano not picking Dolan's Hub vision in 2013 leads to articles like this, and there are plenty of people who like to build their resumes seeing their work in a newspaper.

The question is why are our fans so gullible to believe these people & not call them out on their agenda?

Are these bloggers & pod-casters interested in the truth or their resume?

It's not because our fans sold out 35 games every year at the Coliseum at big boy prices, no one moves to a proven failed location in the middle of nowhere to be a tenant of their rival. 

Newsday went through 4 publishers in six years since the 2008 paywall went up, they stopped employing one.

As LI Press wrote in 2012, 2010, not much has changed besides going from James Dolan to Pat Dolan, Altice looked at the losses and sold back a majority stake in Newsday/News12 within 2 weeks after Cablevision was sold to Altice in 2016.

Patrick Dolan still goes with James Dolan's team.

Newsday Media day-to-day operations would continue to be led by Ed Bushey.
Senior vice president/general manager, and Debby Krenek, senior vice president/digital and editorial director.

These are the people who get their marching orders from the Dolan's, and tell Marshall, Baumbach, Brodsky, Winnicki, Staple what to write/not to write.

Deborah Henley is still an editor for the Dolan's as of 2017.

Andrea Greenberg has been at Msg hiding Islander games on +2 for a few years as general manager, cutting post-games down to one interview. Plenty of disposable people like Botta, Cerney who were quietly sent out the door who know it's hard finding work without a reference from Dolan.

And as always plenty of biased Ranger media who want no part of the NYI in NYC, like Rick Carpinello who found a job working for Dolan after Journal News dumped his column. 

Newspapers have been biased back to the founding fathers last I checked.

Having written that I have never seen a sports teams fans, and bloggers be this gullible about what's going on. 

New York Notables

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/14/2017 06:36:00 AM |
Mostly a quiet time.

Somerby is an UFA on 8/15. Snow can stock his pool with a few similar players now.

Went as deep as I care to go on Sound Tigers. Ledecky must respond this week (8/14) & we will get more of an idea of how our owners do business. (along with Bridgeport government)

So Saffan expects 250,000 customers a year there, paying $60.00 average ticket prices?
Color me very skeptical.

Cuomo/Dolan Belmont Taxpayer Ponzi-Scheme RFP Arena likely sits in Dolan media blackout mode, their narrative is set, same as 2011 that defeated the vote.

Maybe a few cheap shots or deflection articles about Coliseum, Prokhorov, Ratner or some politicians using the bring the team home campaign dance in a Dolan outlet with some writers/bloggers who need resume building.

We are going to find out what our new owners can actually get done.

We'll see if Mr Malkin-Ledecky want to use their names to be pawns as a 41 day tenant as every other NHL team (especially Arizona/Ottawa/Kanata)  recognize their teams must play inside a major city to survive, not spend 485 million to go back to a place it failed miserably with less fans at the games in a place that hosted Saturday night games.

Would get interesting if Malkin-Ledecky were trotted out as RFP winner, then Barclay's decided not to opt out of any leases & fix up the building, and our owners did the smart business move & stayed.

Don Monti was named Master Developer at the Coliseum site, you remember the maps I drew here who had what, he walked away.

RFP winners walk away all the time. Ratner walked from Barclay's/Nets, and has only a 15 percent stake in the Coliseum project. This Coliseum agreement was 260 million in a 130/130 split. 165 million was overspent on arena.

We can expect a new County Executive come November.

AEG/Barclay's vs Dolan's Oakview (who's never spent real money not from taxpayers and is the only money with no real arena building background) could backfire on them based on Seattle, his issues with the Clippers building next to his LA Forum,  & now trying to place an arena between the Barclay's & Coliseum?

Between Penn Station downstairs, Moynihan Station, and Dolan's tax exemption upstairs, not even Andrew Cuomo's,  Empire State Development can throw much more taxpayer money at Dolan who just spend over 500 million on phase one while the MTA is neglected downstairs.

By the end of January the distractions will be over regarding an arena.

I'm not a hundred percent on Tavares but expect he will be signed in camp as long as he's promised the team will stay in New York.

Our fans drive these owners out & stay home, everyone could opt out in January & this team is gone forever by May 2018. 

Bridgeport Update 8/10/17/Corrections

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/11/2017 05:35:00 PM |
The headline here would be I'm incorrect about Live Nation/Dolan connection in my previous entry, given they already book events at Webster Bank Arena, so when wrong it goes at top of this page so my readers have honesty.

The mayor is not happy with the arena's performance regardless of who books it.

Also more clarified is this field covering is more a canvas overhang, not an enclosed roof like was done at USTA in Flushing for the 2 week tournament, and why baseball cannot still be played there.

Still, Mr Ledecky, feels these changes are competition to the arena's business operations, and a possible lease violation which could lead to a lawsuit for an agreement that only runs through 2021, with this new amphitheater not ready until 2019.

This would seem a trivial matter if Ledecky wanted to move the team in four years or sooner so a fair bet is Ledecky wants to stay in Bridgeport past 2021.

Trouble in Bridgeport: Ledecky Quoted Comments

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/09/2017 09:33:00 PM |
Updated: 
March 2015 entry on this subject which includes Saffan's comment as an Islanders employee on lease in Bridgeport & city council documents. 

In June 2015 I reviewed the entire history with documents back to day one.
(see below) professional hockey league clause was incorrect on my part in this entry.
****************************************************************
Ct Post: Reports Mayor Joe Ganim’s plans to turn the city ballpark into an amphitheater for music acts  would represent competition barred in the Tigers contract with City Hall.

The project would be constructed and operated by partners ex-Sound Tigers owner Howard Saffan, a developer from Weston, and mammoth concert promoter Live Nation.

 “I therefore urge you to reconsider this course of action,” Ledecky wrote. “For if the city accepts the proposal, the Sound Tigers will be forced to exercise all of their rights under the operating agreement.”

Ledecky, in his letter Wednesday, revealed that the Sound Tigers met with Saffan, Live Nation and representatives from the Ganim administration “to discuss the (amphitheater) proposal and its effect on the continued financial viability of the arena.”

Ledecky claimed the Tigers had been given until the week of Aug. 14 “to address in writing whether and under what circumstances the Sound Tigers could accept the ballpark conversion.”

He called the city's decision to announce a deal with Saffan and Live Nation this week “perplexing."

NYIFC Comments: 
In an 8/9 interview by telephone (see twitter) Saffan makes clear somehow this 15 million dollar public-private deal will put some kind of roof on the ballpark, making it an indoor facility which would take events from the arena which is in operation year-round, hence Ledecky's reaction.

Live Nation also works for Dolan's Chase Garden so if their Belmont Ponzi-Scheme arena is built the tenant NY Islanders could be stuck with Live Nation.

Saffan was the teams president, never the owner, he booked the arena, he worked for the Islanders for over a decade, in Bridgeport, and previously the Coliseum.

And Saffan was the one making clear Bridgeport cannot move to the Coliseum in 2013 at Ratner's press conference to the point it got ugly because the contract in Bridgeport requires the Islanders to supply an AHL team or better through 2021. 


John Ledecky quoted somewhere?

Based on this one article very odd development given it claims the concert season in an amphitheater would run from May to October which would alter only a few Oct/April Sound Tiger games unless they made a deep playoff run which has happened once or twice before Roy Boe sold the team to Wang around 2003-04.

The baseball stadium's tenant, the 20-year Bluefish announced 2017 will be their final season.

Obviously both sides have issues with the arena but the Sound Tigers have a binding lease to the point.

A few years ago I worked long/hard to go through the documents. Michael Fornabaio, showed me the key document on AHL team or better clause (vs professional hockey league language change Wang wanted & was approved) which for months I was wrong about based on negotiations from 2011 when Wang bought agreement, and where the meeting documents were.

At the time I documented the history back to Roy Boe/day one.

Jon Ledecky/Scott Malkin own/operate the arena as part of the sale of the Islanders, a competing amphitheater being a problem for them is not good news if their plans are beyond 2021.

Gionta Resigned

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/08/2017 02:46:00 PM |

Do Ledecky-Malkin really want to be a 41-day tenant in Dolan arena via Cuomo taxpayer ponzi scheme?

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/07/2017 06:11:00 PM |
485 million to be a 41-day tenant in the Rangers owners Barclay's/Coliseum-revenge building back in invisible Nassau, next to one congested highway, and a bunch of trees vs a city with millions of potential new fans, 12 subway lines, and a local walk-up that includes many Nets fans, and corporations.

In a building that already produced higher attendance than most Coliseum seasons.

The answer to the title of this post is I have no idea what, Scott Malkin, who seems to be mostly in Europe knows about his first sports franchise or it's attendance-revenue history in Nassau County?

A lot of these owners usually come from Gary Bettman & NHL, after Barroway threatened his lawsuit, the league moved fast to work a viable solution.

John Pickett saw what was happening, and after paying to save team lost interest. Howard Milstein put up with this for a few months before refusing to spend.

Charles Wang told you his story of why he bought the team after seeing two games vs Rangers, and leaving early. County executive, Tom Gulotta, made clear even then whoever buys the Islanders must pay for a new Coliseum themselves which is crazy considering a tenant does not do that. 

Wang (with Scott Rechler/then Mangano) kept trying for 12 years, and was vilified for not giving the fans a max payroll & 1973 ticket prices, as he paid to renovate Nassau's building, and Smg played slumlord, no lease was condemned. 

Scott Malkin spoke once in 2014 at the Coliseum, I did not understand much of what he said.

Only Charles Wang knows if he talked to them about this at all or they sat down with the teams books, who made clear he would have moved to Barclay's by 2013-14 if allowed.

Jon Ledecky between his tenure in Washington & his two year listening tour hiding among the fans had to have some notion of the many, many years of empty seats/poor revenue in Nassau, and not just the second half of 2013-14.

Or did he?

Perhaps Mr Ledecky/Scott Malkin, fell victim to the drumbeat of Long Island fans at Northwell telling him move the team back to 7,000 fans in Nassau or the Dolan media spin in his media knocking Barclay's to get them out of NYC before it's clear they belong in NYC, with more fans, and a far better revenue stream. 

Or it's been the Dolan's plan via Cuomo since last summer when the push began in the family newspaper to get them out to Belmont, with Flushing always getting some negative push-back from their media because it's still too close to NYC.

Obviously everyone had a good laugh at the six game Coliseum plan, or the owners asked for Ratner/Prokhorov and Bettman/Dolan correctly told them no because the rule is one home to a customer per territory. 

Who knows? Scott Malkin & Jon Ledecky had to approve the Buffalo Sabres playing a home game inside the NYI territorial rights in Queens so Dolan does not lose his yearly tax exemption on the Chase Garden by hosting a game outside his building or was this approval baked into Cuomo-Dolan RFP?

16/25 years the two years at 13,000 + fans at  Barclay's with few Saturday games/Sun football game days, early season Mon-Wed. produced better attendance then Nassau Coliseum. Six Coliseum years were on par with 13,000 number, three had better numbers than Barclay's with one being 2001-02 with Milstein rock-bottom ticket prices, another being the final season packed with Sat, Alumni giveaway nights. Did Malkin/Ledecky even look at these horrible numbers in Nassau County?


The Dolan's media (who cannot even mention his name) are bragging about arena plans being done, and the worlds fastest RFP process seems all set to trot out Scott Malkin & John Ledecky in late September as winners of Cuomo/ Dolan revenge arena for 2013, likely with a new Tavares contract as part of the celebration of returning to obscurity.

Why would our owners want to be a willing part of this or Tavares?

Mr Malkin, Mr Ledecky, stay in NYC at Barclay's or ask for a NYC site without any Dolan involvement. It's working far better than Nassau has most years.

Who cares about some obstructed seats that rarely were filled in Nassau? Yormark promised new pipes for the ice, ask for a little remodeling downstairs and stay at Barclay's. It's working now, and in a decade you'll sell enough tickets (and critical corporate money) to where Barclay's will want to renovate themselves whether it be Prokhorov or someone else.

Either that of by game 2 on a Tuesday in Dolan's Belmont arena in front of 7,000 fans (or less) reality is going to hit home you made a fatal mistake as big as John Pickett made to give Smg all the teams revenue for some Coliseum luxury boxes in a building that looks like a SD telecast on Dolan's +2 filled with Knicks and Ranger ads.

And if Dolan does eventually renovate Key Arena in Seattle, and operates this Belmont white elephant via Cuomo/taxpayers, he will funnel them to Seattle & his other arena.


Expect a Dolan media blackout on Cuomo/Dolan-owned Belmont taxpayer ponzi scheme arena

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/03/2017 11:56:00 AM |
Sure Dolan is only a minority investor/adviser, and it's the Islanders arena. LOL












Expect a ton of silence now from Dolan's paid media.

Their narrative has been set, the fans have bought in as usual.

Some fans even told me Ledecky is building an arena,  and paying for it? Who was the last sports owner who did that anywhere? LOL

They must be the people who think Katz built that Light house Project in Edmonton out of pocket, & Illitch-town in Detroit came entirely from his pockets before he passed away?

It's really been this way since last summer when Dolan's media push began for a Belmont arena, with Flushing being sold as something far less viable despite our owners buying a NYC team for 485 million dollars.

Cuomo can wave his campaign contribution magic wand tomorrow, and make the Shea site open for an Islanders arena without Dolan.

Now that Dolan/Cuomo got their RFP, and it's been marketed by them as the NYI bid, complete with Dolan's media discussing his (NYI) arena renderings, you will read very little on this RFP at all.

Front page articles against a Belmont RFP,  George Marlin opinion pieces, Other bidders. Financial experts....sorry gang, it's not 2011 & this is to get Dolan his arena, and the Islanders out of NYC for openers, it's revenge for losing the Coliseum in 2013.

It's not 2011 where the Dolan's wanted to defeat a referendum so they could bid in 2013, and pounded home the $58.00 narrative daily until it stuck.

This will be the 2011 referendum without the Dolan media push to stop it, what Charles Wang/Ed Mangano intended for a quiet referendum vote in August for a new Islanders arena.

Everyone is officially on vacation from this subject unless it's to sell Dolan/Cuomo/Percoco,  Penn Station taxpayer funded project in their media. Maybe a few bring the Islanders home to the Rangers new arena pom pom waiving articles from them, with some shots at Barclay's, but that's it. 

You will read absolutely nothing about financing, costs, leases, Cuomo campaign contributions from Dolan, Msg taxpayer exemptions,  Joe Percoco or anything from the 2011 playbook before that tepid late endorsement after it was clear the vote would not pass.

Whenever it goes near Dolan you will simply see their shell Oak View company mentioned in passing with, Irving Azoff, Tim Leiweke, who have no money as some peripheral investor/advisers when it fact this will be Dolan's arena from Cuomo's Empire State Development Corp & taxpayers. 

Newsday/News12 are not even allowed to tell the public the Dolan family (now under Pat Dolan) still have a controlling interest in Newsday/News12, they do what they are told or find new jobs.

Dolan's media is not going to say/write anything, same as Chase Garden's taxpayer exemption for their renovation is hidden, and you never see any paperwork PFD files on deals made by Dolan or the Garden because it's off-limits unlike everything involving the NYI or Prokhorov/Ratner Coliseum must be made a circus.

No, not even Dolan can be blamed for that circus two weeks ago at the Coliseum, but their media can get anyone voted out of office. 

This is the same Dolan-controlled paper that prosecuted the Islanders deal with Cantiague Park on the front-page for a practice facility a few years ago, and is still playing Coliseum watchdog because they lost the bid. 

The Islanders owners will be trotted out as the RFP winners when it reality it will be Dolan's arena, and the NYI will be tenants for 41 days if they are a willing part of it.

I have little doubt the announcement will also happen amid a Tavares extension in late September so fans even concentrate less on the financing and who really won the bid. 

I also have little doubt this super fast less than 2 months RFP process was decided a year ago for Cuomo to give Dolan a revenge arena against Mangano/Ratner Coliseum.

Down the road if this scheme happens, and an arena is built you will not see one word on Dolan owing the new arena filled with his events, it will look like an Msg+2 SD Islander telecast filled with Knicks and Ranger ads or what Dolan's plan was for the Coliseum in 2013 with their MSG-zone.

By then you will read between the lines, and figure out it's Dolan's arena unless 7,000 are there by game two & Dolan funnels them to the Seattle arena, the media there does not seem shy to jump on every change to that deal.

My advice, go read up on Dolan's bid in Seattle and the financing, from their media, who are not in Dolan's pocket.

I'm planning some words on Scott Malkin & Jon Ledecky next week. 

de Haan Avoids Arbitration Resigns

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/02/2017 10:50:00 AM |
Updated: deHaan comments:  nhl.com

NYIFC Comments: 
This is not a good circumstance. deHaan will hit UFA next summer, and likely be testing the market given this outcome.

If he has a good season, he will receive a big raise from another team, if the Islanders struggle, expect a trade.

He had a lot of good things to say about this team given his interview.