NACORE luncheon examines Yankee Stadium debate.

The June meeting of NACORE New York City Chapter featured Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, and the surprise appearance of developer Abe Hirschfeld, both of whom discussed the volatile topic of moving Yankee Stadium to Manhattan using public funds.

According to the speakers, a new stadium in Manhattan would ultimately cost the taxpayers of New York City well over a billion dollars, with little hope of any real financial return on investment. Unfortunately, no representative from either the Mayor's Office or from the Yankees' organization was present to refute or debate the issues.

One issue upon which both Hirschfeld and Ferrer seemed to agree was that the Manhattan stadium complex would never serve the public nearly as well as some formula for the expansion of the Javitz Convention Center. It was noted that the Yankees presently pay almost no rent to the city and are unlikely to start paying just because they become the recipients of a new stadium in a new location.

Ferrer expressed his adamant belief that moving Yankee Stadium would add nothing of benefit to Manhattan, other than more traffic and congestion in an already overcrowded neighborhood.

"Moving the Yankees out of The Bronx would be tantamount to the' strip-mining' of one borough, but not necessarily to the advantage of the other borough," said Ferrer. "Tradition and sentiment are only part of why the Yankees should stay in The Bronx. The price-tag for fixing up the present stadium is less than half the cost of a new stadium."

Ferrer envisions a "Yankee Village" growing up around the Stadium and a revitalization of the Bronx Terminal Market. According to a report issued by the Borough President, features of the his include: restoration of the stadium exterior and renovation and reconfiguration of the interior to modern standards, with 46,000 to 48,000 seats, luxury boxes, club seats and other amenities. Commercial revitalization would be accompanied by large-scale retail development, a regional retail center at the Bronx Terminal Market, and 10,500 parking spaces.

A new Metro North commuter rail station and a renovated subway station would be located virtually at the stadium gate, under Ferrer's plan, which estimated the total cost of the Yankee Village to be $488 million.

The Manhattan site has been estimated to be as much as $1.06 billion, according to some published reports, not including such costs as land or air rights acquisition, or direct ramp connections from the Lincoln Tunnel, which are recommended by consultants.

Abe Hirschfeld's plan calls for the creation of a world-class center of economic and cultural activity in The Bronx that would include four new buildings with a total of 15,000 new parking spaces and provisions for 3,000 additional spaces. Under the eccentric developer's plans, his company would lead the development of a wide shopping mail with 944,000 square feet of retail space, a 350-room, full-service hotel, and a massive dome to permit year-round use of Yankee Stadium and attract national sporting events to New York. The project would conceivably create 10,000 new jobs, according to Hirschfeld, and generate real estate and occupancy tax of $60 million to $100 million per annum.

Hirschfeld proposes the use of some federal funding earmarked for Enterprise Zone development, in which sales tax exemption would be available for shops on what he termed "the Champs Elysees Mall of America. Approximately $120 million of state and city funds would be required for subway modifications, according to Hirschfeld's plan.

The most important question raised at the NACORE meeting was: "How will the public benefit?" Most agreed, the only beneficiary of a Manhattan stadium would be George Steinbrenner, who some believe desires a move into Manhattan just to get out of The Bronx. Others believed a new stadium in Manhattan, combined with an expansion of the Javits Center to the north, could be mean a boom for property values of underutilized West Side property adjacent to the site, envisioning the development of hotels, restaurants and other ancillary services around the two facilities which would generate considerable tax revenue and new jobs.

On the other side of this issue is "How will a Yankee move affect The Bronx and the economic conditions of that area of the borough?" The audience response was generally that the loss of the Yankees would cause a far more negative effect to The Bronx than any real or imagined benefits that a new stadium would provide to its new location.

Finally, proponents of the move argued that unless Yankee Stadium is relocated, we may all be rooting for the New Jersey Yankees. Ferrer's answer to that was simple "Let them move."

According to the borough president, no one should dictate terms to the city. Whatever plan is implemented, he said, it should be one that will help improve the entire area in which the stadium is located and not one which takes resources desperately needed by the city and makes a private bonanza available to Steinbrenner at the expense of all New Yorkers.

Yankee Stadium was built in 1923 at a cost of $2.3 million. In 1973, a consortium headed by George Steinbrenner acquired the Yankees from CBS and threatened to leave New York. To retain the team, the City purchased the stadium for $12 million and spent over $100 million more on reconstruction. The Yankees have enjoy a very favorable lease, terminating in the year 2002, under which maintenance costs are currently deducted from rental payments.