Cablevision is getting "close" to purchasing the Mets
for $400M, with one team owner saying the deal is "so close
'they're sending papers back and forth putting in the last
details,'" according to Murray Chass of the N.Y. TIMES.
Chass cites "other owners" as saying as part of the deal,
Mets co-Owner Fred Wilpon "would operate" the team, while
Mets co-Owner Nelson Doubleday would "remain with the club
in an executive capacity," and each is "supposed to keep" a
10% interest in the team. Chass adds that the YankeeNets
merger "remains incomplete," with one owner saying that the
Nets "have deposited" the $225M they will pay the Yankees to
"offset the difference in the value of the two teams," but
Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner "remained undecided on
whether to go through with the deal." Steinbrenner: "I
don't know who would be starting that rumor. There's no
truth to that" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/11).
SAGE & SPIRIT? In NJ, Bob Klapisch writes on the "open-
air circus" atmosphere at Shea Stadium and writes, "The
music is too loud, creating a phony, up-tempo atmosphere.
Every fifth inning, the Mets shamelessly suck up to Pepsi
... and air gun T-shirts into the stands. ... The Mets once
needed these tricks, but not anymore. It's time for Shea
Stadium to grow up" (Bergen RECORD, 8/11).
A BIG CHUNK OF THE APPLE: N.Y. Comptroller Alan Hevesi
estimated that the 6% increase in Yankees attendance and the
20% increase in Mets attendance have added $46M to the
city's economy. Hevesi's chief economist John Marlin said
that a seven-game, Yankees-Mets World Series "would add more
than" $210M to the city's economy (CRAIN'S INSIDER, 8/6).
