N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio yesterday said that he "supports legislation" to revoke the $16M annual property tax break that Madison Square Garden "will receive forever." de Blasio: "We can't ask the taxpayers to look the other way while a very well-endowed corporation, a profitable corporation, receives a tax cut for a piece of land that is among the most valuable on earth." But in N.Y., Blain & Lovett note New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo "opposes overturning the break" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/28).
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT: In DC, Steven Goff wrote the "lopsided results" of a recent poll showing opposition to public financing for a proposed MLS DC United stadium are "not necessarily a referendum on United and soccer," but rather "about public money contributing to United and soccer." One "must take into account lingering stadium fatigue." The public has been "gouged by" MLB and "the greedy Lerner family over financing of Nationals Park eight years ago." The office of DC Mayor Vincent Gray and United "will need to do a better job selling the project not as a soccer stadium but as a multi-use venue" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 1/27).
DEMON DAYS: In Chicago, Danny Ecker reported the village of Rosemont, Ill., has "struck a three-year deal" with Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. "to build the first-ever stage-visible bar inside Allstate Arena." A new 2,300-square-foot space, which "will be branded as either the Jack Daniels Lounge or the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Club, will be located inside the bowl on the arena's east end," and will be "open to the 21-and-over public during concerts and games." Financial terms were not released, but a source said that Brown-Forman "will pay Rosemont an annual sum 'in the low six figures' for branding rights, which include signage and other marketing in the arena" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 1/27).
HONKY TONKIN': In Nashville, Michael Cass notes Mayor Karl Dean, Angels 1B Albert Pujols, and "hundreds of baseball fans" were on hand yesterday "to break ground on a new minor league ballpark" for the Triple-A PCL Nashville Sounds. MiLB President & CEO Pat O'Conner said, "I would be less than honest if I thought I would ever be standing here giving this speech today." The ballpark is scheduled to "open in time for" the '15 season "with room for 10,000" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 1/28).
