Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner has gotten a "very
attractive offer" to relocate his team to NJ in "secret
talks" with state leaders, according to Buffa & Topousis of
the N.Y. POST. A source said that Steinbrenner "had lengthy
discussions" last week with "people close to" NJ Gov.
Christie Whitman, and added that NJ officials have "offered
(Steinbrenner) significant financial incentives, and the
discussions are expected to continue." Steinbrenner,
through spokesperson Howard Rubenstein, said that he had
"absolutely no comment" on the report, while Whitman,
appearing on WCBS's "Sunday Edition" yesterday, said that
the state "would welcome" the Yankees. However, she added
that the team would be "subject to the same kind of business
incentives" as other businesses. Whitman: "The state isn't
going to build him a stadium." Bronx Borough President
Fernando Ferrer "dismissed" the talks as a "ploy" to sell a
new Yankees park in Manhattan (N.Y. POST, 4/27).
LITTLE SUPPORT FOR MOVE: A Marist College poll of 414
NYC area voters found that only 21% want the Yankees to move
to Manhattan, and "just" 3% favor a relocation to NJ. The
survey showed that 76% prefer that the team remain in the
Bronx (N.Y. POST, 4/25)....In N.Y., William Rhoden wrote,
"The reality is that the time has probably come for the
Yankees to move. The time has come for Steinbrenner to
strip-mine somewhere else. ... Just do it with the Boss's
money" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/25)....N.Y. intellectual property
attorney Robert Kunstadt wrote an op-ed piece in the N.Y.
POST under the header, "Tax The Yankees' Logo To Pay For A
New Park." Kunstadt suggested that "profits earned" through
the merchandising of products bearing the team trademarks
"could be tapped to pay taxpayers back for city-sponsored
improvements to sports facilities" (N.Y. POST, 4/26).
