Dome Renovation

[Cusefan78]

What reasons did the city have to turn down a half billion dollar project? I am sincerely interested.

Miner wanted the plan to also include money for security and fire personnel plus water and sewage infrastructure for the surrounding areas.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I didn't think that area was large enough for what they wanted to do.

It would have made for a nice basketball/hockey arena with parking, but they were never going to shoehorn a 40,000+ seat stadium down there with room left over for cars.

 

[Crusty]

You don't need 20K parking spaces for a 45K seat venue. Metlife has 28K on site for 82K. Univ of Phoenix has 14K on site parking for 63K seats, Philly has 22K for a 68K facility.

Metlife has a train from the city that stops right at the stadium.

 

[Q3cuse(no more)]

If they build a new hotel. Say goodbye to the Sheraton. SU will repurpose that land the Sheraton sits on.

 

[JeremyCuse]

What reasons did the city have to turn down a half billion dollar project? I am sincerely interested.

See OttoMets post below. The City aka Miner turned that down (if you want to call it that) knowing full well SU was in line with the decision. OttoMets lists several of the reasons but also Syracuse was one of the main people who in the end just wasn't that interested in that proposal.

 

[Cusefan78]

It would have made for a nice basketball/hockey arena with parking, but they were never going to shoehorn a 40,000+ seat stadium down there with room left over for cars.

Yeah I agree would have been a nice replacement for the war memorial.

 

[JeremyCuse]

If they build a new hotel. Say goodbye to the Sheraton. SU will repurpose that land the Sheraton sits on.

Not happening, Sheraton is undergoing multi-million dolla renovations this year, its not going anywhere.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Miner wanted the plan to also include money for security and fire personnel plus water and sewage infrastructure for the surrounding areas.

Also under that deal SU would no longer have right of refusal. Meaning if the county/city decided they wanted to hold taste of syracuse in there during the summer or some other evenSU had no choice but to go along with it. Total non starter from what I was told.

 

[Crusty]

Miner wanted the plan to also include money for security and fire personnel plus water and sewage infrastructure for the surrounding areas.

What she wanted was money she had been seeking for some time for sewers all over the city not just surrounding areas. She tried to hold up everyone. How does the state say yes to her and deny every other city in NYS with 100-year-old infrastructure? It was an impossible ask. Very foolish polical play and she wound up with nothing. She was out of her league.

 

[Crusty]

Also under that deal SU would no longer have right of refusal. Meaning if the county/city decided they wanted to hold taste of syracuse in there during the summer or some other evenSU had no choice but to go along with it. Total non starter from what I was told.

For that reason you turn down a half billion project?

 

[JeremyCuse]

For that reason you turn down a half billion project?

No that was one reason amongst a host of other reasons that other posters have outlined. As noted previously Syracuse didn't have that much interest in the project to begin with and the money I believe was 200 million not 500 million. Again as noted this was not something that was near the end stages that Miner blew up. These were discssions under the old regime that ended up getting out to the media, it was never close to being agreed upon.

 

[KellySyracuse]

What she wanted was money she had been seeking for some time for sewers all over the city not just surrounding areas. She tried to hold up everyone. How does the state say yes to her and deny every other city in NYS with 100-year-old infrastructure? It was an impossible ask. Very foolish polical play and she wound up with nothing. She was out of her league.

I'm not privy to the inner workings of what happened but it seemed pretty foolish to me at the time to announce the plan before having an open, public discussion that included the mayor and the city residents. There didn't seem to be any compromise on either side. I was all for it by the way but can see why she would want to put the brakes on. Shouldn't there have been some public discussion on the project?

 

[FrancoPizza]

For that reason you turn down a half billion project?

Exactly. A politician who gets things done would've said something along these lines: "I think this is a great opportunity, we're excited by the state support... like any project of this caliber I have many questions and concerns but these are things that we can sit down and discuss."

She never once expressed enthusiasm over the potential benefits. She's always looking for the downside, the can't-do mentality, blah blah blah. Small time. Never once has she been a beacon of optimism and progressive leadership. Remember that video that was posted recently where she dissed the football team? What kind of public official does that. Sorry Milly but she comes across as a short-sighted arrogant pr!ck who could give a rat's ass about what's best for moving the city into the 21st century.

 

[Millhouse]

What reasons did the city have to turn down a half billion dollar project? I am sincerely interested.

my guess is uncertainty about rushed into something and being on the hook for infrastructure improvements the city couldn't afford

 

[Crusty]

I'm not privy to the inner workings of what happened but it seemed pretty foolish to me at the time to announce the plan before having an open, public discussion that included the mayor and the city residents. There didn't seem to be any compromise on either side. I was all for it by the way but can see why she would want to put the brakes on. Shouldn't there have been some public discussion on the project?

Public discussion would have taken place later at p and z meetings etc. Nothing would get done if we had public discussions on every item in the governor's budget proposal. The timing was the governor's budget for the next year. The governor was looking for projects for CNY, which got a performance center instead.

At any rate those wanting a different location will not get it because nobody wants to deal with the Mayor. SU decided to paddle its own canoe.

 

[retro44]

You could see this coming a mile away, and I said so at the time. Cuomo, Mahoney and Syverud simply worked around her.

Everyone seems to forget that Mayor Miner put the kibosh on plans to build a new $495 million on the site of the former Kennedy Square housing project between University Hill and the heart of downtown. (One of many articles.)

In a tiff because the state would not give her $15 million for new sewers, Miner would not back the plan conceived by the county and state. Also, Miner is by profession a labor attorney, with whose backing is how she got elected in the first place, and she wanted guarantees of labor union workers in the construction contracts. That was never going to happen. Remember, it is the work rules as much as the higher hourly rates that balloon costs when union labor is involved.

Miner called for a commission to study the plan and the state, county and SU declined to participate. What does that tell you?

So, you can thank Mayor Miner (appropriate name) for the "community" losing out. (Although I don't think it matters much on the margin where the facility is located.)

Do not be surprised to see the university or some other entity actually build the facility and then do a sale-leaseback with the state to avoid union labor. The state will probably set up some commission to run the facility and SU will be the major tenant. The state will issue long term bonds to finance it, which will be amortized by the SU lease. Remember SU can lease only the stadium portion and continue to own the rest.

This will be a win-win situation for all parties. As for the City of Syracuse, go ask Mayor Miner what happened to the half billion dollar investment that could have wound up near downtown.

Be thankful that The Good Chancellor has a backbone and will not be deterred by some local petty politician.

I know for a fact that Cor and the Mayor knew there never was going to be a PLA on the that tiny site. They would have needed to buy out many small businesses on that footprint plus throw the Feds Va. building that was also on it.Plus SUNY Upstate spent many millions on a brand new building there that I worked on. That Stadium was so low balled it was not even to be taken seriously.

image number 1 is a veterans admiistration building right on that footprint.....it's located at 716 E.Wasington St.

your not throwing the Feds off over a stadium.

 

[sutomcat]

The Hotel Syracuse will be the convention center hotel

Yes, that is why I supported government help for that project and do not for the DestinyUSA proposal (now dormant).

 

[FrancoPizza]

Yes, that is why I supported government help for that project and do not for the DestinyUSA proposal (now dormant).

I do wonder if there will still be complaints that the hotel is not connected to the convention center. When they were talking about a new hotel a couple years back the big issue was that conventions did not want to have to walk a few blocks or be shuttled.

 

[maxxyz]

SU, the county and, more importantly, the state didn't think it was a pipe dream. Syverud isn't the type of guy to associate his name or the university with a fanciful project. With respect to Miner, if she doesn't deserve the blame who does?

I would have loved that stadium to be built, even with the fact that the plan had no where near the parking needed. But what Miner pointed out was there was no budget to sustain the operation of it. Using the Louisville arena as a comparable venue built with tax dollars and run by the local gov't, even when well managed the arena would lose over five million dollars a year. Who pays for that? No one had an answer, and Miner wouldn't let it pass without an answer. Would you support a 3-5% increase in your property tax to pay for it?

 

[Crusty]

I know for a fact that Cor and the Mayor knew there never was going to be a PLA on the that tiny site. They would have needed to buy out many small businesses on that footprint plus throw the Feds Va. building that was also on it.Plus SUNY Upstate spent many millions on a brand new building there that I worked on. That Stadium was so low balled it was not even to be taken seriously.

image number 1 is a veterans admiistration building right on that footprint...it's located at 716 E.Wasington St.

your not throwing the Feds off over a stadium.

And just how do you know for a fact? The Mayor did not raise any of these issues at thed time - she just had her hand out.

 

[Crusty]

I would have loved that stadium to be built, even with the fact that the plan had no where near the parking needed. But what Miner pointed out was there was no budget to sustain the operation of it. Using the Louisville arena as a comparable venue built with tax dollars and run by the local gov't, even when well managed the arena would lose over five million dollars a year. Who pays for that? No one had an answer, and Miner wouldn't let it pass without an answer. Would you support a 3-5% increase in your property tax to pay for it?

What do you think is going to happen with the new dome facility. Cost is the same and financing will be the same?

Edit - BTW UL does not play football in Yum Center. Not comparable.

 

[KellySyracuse]

What do you think is going to happen with the new dome facility. Cost is the same and financing will be the same?

who will own it though? Is the university going to own the building or is going to be owned by the county? I guess that depends on where it gets built if they decide not to do a renovation

 

[Cuseregular]

I did this summer. It won't look like that if they built the thing.

It's still sorta on campus and right next to downtown. For someone who likes to walk to places it seemed fine to me.

The Nats built a stadium in basically East Berlin and it no longer looks like that either (I know Cuse isn't DC)

Don't just do a drive by, spend some time in and around the area and you'll know why its a place to avoid. Key being around the area. I don't want something like this where a few blocks a way some of the cretins can make it in walking distance from the huge appartment building they house a VERY LARGE amount of sex offenders and other criminals. Don't want it that close. And some of the other surrounding areas so close too. Dicey, to say the least.

 

[Crusty]

who will own it though? Is the university going to own the building or is going to be owned by the county? I guess that depends on where it gets built if they decide not to do a renovation

I suspect a state authority will own the stadium portion.

 

[Crusty]

Don't just do a drive by, spend some time in and around the area and you'll know why its a place to avoid. Key being around the area. I don't want something like this where a few blocks a way some of the cretins can make it in walking distance from the huge appartment building they house a VERY LARGE amount of s e x offenders and other criminals. Don't want it that close. And some of the other surrounding areas so close too. Dicey, to say the least.

Yankee stadium is blocks away from a city jail.