Why Do the Warriors Need Our $5 Million Dollars?

Part of me hopes they keep making the town uglyer and uglyer.. they will regret it one day.. and then have to live with there guilt... ahahahahahahaha

Of course Bruce doesn’t like this – it’s something new. If had had his way Santa Cruz would have been sealed in Tupperware during the Carter administration so it would never change from his perceived ideal. However, time marches on.

“This photo courtesy of The Beach Hill Neighbors Association shows the parking and living problems IF the Basketball moguls get their way with our City. Look at that photo, think about where you’d park…how far would you walk? Think about all the other places the Warriors basketball corporation could put this monstrosity. Do we need such ugliness next to our already decaying San Lorenzo River?”

Both marked lots are less than a quarter mile flat walk. My walk will be about a mile and a half, but I get to leave my car at home. And yes, I have thought about better places for it, but since they’ll never rebuild the Civic, we’ll just have to make do. I notice that Bruce didn’t offer any ideas, but they’re all probably in Watsonville. I do not think that the San Lorenzo is “decaying”. There is more use of it now that the bike bridge was built at the north end (which I wouldn’t be surprised if Bruce was also against). Would not having more people down there help reverse decay? What should we do Bruce, is a parking lot the best use of the space?

“BASKET CASE #1. Doesn’t it seem odd that Kaiser Permanente denies health coverage anyone living in Santa Cruz County and still will have their name on the front of this “temporary metal tent”?? Have you seen the hot cheerleaders on the Warriors website? Will we have Santa Cruz High School girls doing this??? And didn’t we stop the Miss California Pageant for the same reason???

BASKET CASE #2. Check out how nervous Don Lane is in this Channel 8 newscast as he attempts to explain how the City Council really, really isn’t railroading the project”

I cannot comment on #2 as I have not watched it yet. For point #1: Maybe K-P is thinking of expanding to Santa Cruz County? It doesn’t make sense otherwise, but if they have the money in their marking budget and think that there is value for those dollars, then let them spend it how they will. Doesn’t Santa Cruz High already have a cheer squad? Not sure where the outrage is there.

“WHO OWNS THE WARRIORS AND WHY DO THEY NEED OUR $5 MILLION DOLLARS? Unloading the email bag we read….”Mike Ozanian, writing for Forbes about the business of sports, says: “Peter Guber and Joe Lacob bought the Warriors basketball team in 2010 for $450 million. Last November, Guber and Lacob bought a development team, the Dakota Wizards, reportedly for around $2 million. Guber also recently bought an interest in the LA Dodgers baseball team, which sold for $2 billion, and as you can see, he is no stranger to mining for government benefits”.”

The Ozanian quote makes no sense whatsoever. The equation doesn’t balance out. “They bought this, that and the other – therefore they suck off the government tit.” Wait, what? There’s also some pronoun mismatch in there, but I’ve stopped caring.

“A CASE OF SWOLLEN BASKETBALLS. You might want to read a few thousand words by Bill Simmons, a basketball authority, on the hapless Golden State Warriors here. It’s lengthy (then again, there’s so much bad news)*cut*”

Yes, let’s point out every error for the team made in the last 40 years. Not sure how it’s the new owners fault, but whatever. Just as a historical aside, the Niner’s sucked in the 70s. The Giants lost 100 games in 1985 and went 58 years without a championship. The Sharks set a NHL record for losses one season. Past performance is not indicative of future results. That’s why they play the game. I'm not even a basket ball fan, but think this will be a good thing for the city. Doing nothing is no longer an option. One cannot continue to look to the past and ignore the future, especially you Bruce.

Why weren't other locations considered for this project and presented alongside the Front Street proposal?

It feels like they are forcing this project on us.

The Harvey West area seems like a more appropriate location for something like this.

I want to thank the Warriors for a stadium project website with clearly stated goals. Moving the D team closer to Oakland is good for the Warriors. Moving to Front Street is not a good fit for Santa Cruz in terms of existing parking, traffic and crime. I can envision a family-friendly venue in Scotts Valley with easy access to Highway 17 for Santa Cruz residents and Warriors players and owners who won't be living here. The Warriors FAQ also suggests this fills a winter activity gap. The main beach area supports numerous annual outdoor events, so winter serves as a time of welcome quiet and renewal. On Front Street, I hope for something more in keeping with the beautiful new marine sanctuary center, with local culture, art and science, a trolley hub even, providing year-round service among all our wonderful restaurants, lectures and galleries and museums, on both sides of town.

Karen Mokrzycki, Santa Cruz

ED NATOL WRITES: What government funding?

First, we are being asked to approve $4.1 million out of our trust fund
Second, much is to be subsidized including Boardwalk employee parking.
Third, won't events at this venue take away business from the Civic Auditorium?

see my latest article with tales of union-busting and government give-aways at: http://www.beckyjohnsononewomantalking.blogspot.com/2012/09/with-name-like-north-dakota-wizards.html

But since we're here...

the 4.1 million is out of the capital improvements trust fund. This is a capital improvement, so I'm not too worried about that.

The boardwalk parking is going to be in the 3 story River St. lot. The top 2 stories are permit parking only, used by employees downtown. On the weekend there are not as many people parked there, so it's no problem to have the boardwalk employees park there. The shuttles are already owned and run by the boardwalk.

The Civic was built for a town about a third of the size we are now, and is outdated and too small. I think the optimal plan would be to put the Warriors (which they are right now, there is no 'Dakota Wizards' anymore) in the tent and use the 5-7 years we have to work on a new Civic plan. Knock it down along with 2 story the city office building on Church St. and you should be able to put a 4000 seat arena there.

Let's not dignify the anti-basketball group as concerned with Santa Cruz. This is just people with money who don't want their little personal scene disturbed - they wouldn't care if the arena were built in some else's back yard, JUST NOT IN THEIRS.