(03-28-2013 12:49 PM)Bearcat T Wrote:  There is a lot of stink about that arena that gives UL so much revenue yet is near bankruptcy!
No disrespect to the Cards, but something in that deal is rotten in Denmark!

It's Louisville's version of Paul Brown Stadium. Unfortunately for us, PBS was built for the benefit of Cincinnati's non-NCAA amateur football team.

At least in UL's case it is public money subsidizing a public institution, as opposed to our public money subsidizing a private business.

(03-28-2013 01:29 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  At least in UL's case it is public money subsidizing a public institution, as opposed to our public money subsidizing a private business.

C'mon. Who would want to subsidize the largest employer in the region? Much better spent on eight games a year (and two pseudo games).

I hope that was tongue in cheek, MickMack PaddyWack Give the Dog a Bone?

(03-28-2013 02:04 PM)BearChatter v2.0 Wrote:  I hope that was tongue in cheek, MickMack PaddyWack Give the Dog a Bone?

110%; although, I'm fairly certain it is an accurate reflection of local government's attitude over the years.

(03-28-2013 12:40 PM)BearChatter v2.0 Wrote:  Meh. I don't see Mick EVER going anywhere else. But I'll play along with the "what if" scenario.

I don't want to see Mick leave. But if he did, it would bother me a little, but not a lot. Nor would I blame him, if the place he jumped to had conference stability, huge fan support, history of success, great facilities, tradition, etc., better financial resources for the b-ball program, etc. UC doesn't have all those things..........YET.

And obviously it would depend on who UC replaced him with. And honestly, with the break up of the Big East and UC being hung out to dry in the leftover conference, I'm not convinced UC is that great of a basketball job right now. More reason I wouldn't blame Mick for leaving. Not so sure UC could get a quality coach. Wouldn't surprise me if they ended up with a retread coach like Tubby Smith. Big name........but not considered a great recruiter.

I dunno. I don't see anything happening anyway. And probably a good thing in terms of UC's conference situation right now. It's a bad time to have to replace a head coach.

I do not think the UC job is any worse than it was in CUSA or the Metro. People thought it was a good to decent job then. Problem is we were in something greater and are now relagated back. I do not see the current conf status as hurting bball as much as it does fball.

(03-28-2013 12:49 PM)Bearcat T Wrote:  There is a lot of stink about that arena that gives UL so much revenue yet is near bankruptcy!
No disrespect to the Cards, but something in that deal is rotten in Denmark!

Not our fault. The university wanted the arena on campus or on the fairgrounds but the city insisted on building it on the river to help stimulate the economy downtown. The city offered the university a such lucrative deal to convince the board to build it there that it would've been stupid to turn it down.

Also keep in mind that the arena itself made a healthy profit last year from games and concerts. The issue is that the surrounding area isn't hitting the tax revenue it promised and thus there's a shortfall.

There isn't much around Yum other than parking.

(03-28-2013 03:59 PM)gocards#1 Wrote:  Not our fault. The university wanted the arena on campus or on the fairgrounds but the city insisted on building it on the river to help stimulate the economy downtown. The city offered the university a such lucrative deal to convince the board to build it there that it would've been stupid to turn it down.

Doesn't mean it wasn't a rotten deal for taxpayers and a rotten deal for the city.

(03-28-2013 03:59 PM)gocards#1 Wrote:  Also keep in mind that the arena itself made a healthy profit last year from games and concerts. The issue is that the surrounding area isn't hitting the tax revenue it promised and thus there's a shortfall.

One could argue that it was engineered to trigger a default on the bond servicing debt and allow UL to purchase the arena. As you point out, the issue is that the TIF zone failed to create sufficient revenue to service the bond debt, thereby triggering a default. Did you know that the TIF zone is a massive six square mile area, but does not include Fourth Street Live, the Galt House Hotel, or the 21c? I won't even mention the fact that the TIF financing is supposed to account for over thirty percent of the YUM Center's debt servicing payments, which is freaking insane.

Again, I don't blame UL fans for this, but you can be less than a conspiracy theorist to think that this was a rotten deal from the beginning. UL fans aren't the ones to blame, but they should be honest: Louisville taxpayers are subsidizing your athletic budget in a major way.

(03-28-2013 04:14 PM)beck Wrote:  There isn't much around Yum other than parking.

It's surrounded by hotels, and there are a ton of restaurants within walking distance. Unfortunately, most of the hotels and restaurants are exempted from the TIF zone.

(03-28-2013 04:16 PM)MickMack Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 03:59 PM)gocards#1 Wrote:  Not our fault. The university wanted the arena on campus or on the fairgrounds but the city insisted on building it on the river to help stimulate the economy downtown. The city offered the university a such lucrative deal to convince the board to build it there that it would've been stupid to turn it down.

Doesn't mean it wasn't a rotten deal for taxpayers and a rotten deal for the city.

(03-28-2013 03:59 PM)gocards#1 Wrote:  Also keep in mind that the arena itself made a healthy profit last year from games and concerts. The issue is that the surrounding area isn't hitting the tax revenue it promised and thus there's a shortfall.

One could argue that it was engineered to trigger a default on the bond servicing debt and allow UL to purchase the arena. As you point out, the issue is that the TIF zone failed to create sufficient revenue to service the bond debt, thereby triggering a default. Did you know that the TIF zone is a massive six square mile area, but does not include Fourth Street Live, the Galt House Hotel, or the 21c? I won't even mention the fact that the TIF financing is supposed to account for over thirty percent of the YUM Center's debt servicing payments, which is freaking insane.

Again, I don't blame UL fans for this, but you can be less than a conspiracy theorist to think that this was a rotten deal from the beginning. UL fans aren't the ones to blame, but they should be honest: Louisville taxpayers are subsidizing your athletic budget in a major way.

At the end of the day it is what it is.If the shoe was on UC's foot I would have the very same ohwell feeling..

UCLA and USC are directional schools

USC? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about a step down.

We better worry about UL. That is the one.

Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz)
4/1/13 6:23 PM
Source: Minnesota reached out to Cincinnati's Mick Cronin, but he withdrew from consideration, citing family, commitment to UC.

That Minnesota job is going to be tough to fill, especially if they keep trying to get current head coaches to fill it. No head coach with a resume good enough to move into a better conference is going to want to take a job where you are almost destined to fail. They need to start focusing on assistants looking to move into head coaching positions.

Report: Cronin turns down Minnesota
04/01/13 at 6:54pm by Bill Koch

ESPN’s Andy Katz has reported that Minnesota “reached out” to Mick Cronin about its head coaching job but Cronin withdrew from consideration, citing family and his commitment to UC.

Cronin, via text message, said he has no direct comment on other jobs.

“I will say that I love UC, my players and most importantly, my daughter Samantha, who I am on spring break with in Florida,” Cronin texted Monday. “I appreciate the support of our administration and fans. We have a great recruiting class coming in and wonderful young men in our program and I cannot wait to get started building our team for next season and beyond. We may have challenges at UC, but it is the school I love and I am honored to be the basketball coach. Period.”

It’s no surprise that Cronin would not be interested in the Minnesota job, which is considered a lower-tier Big Ten job. The Gophers play in ancient Williams Arena and don’t have a practice facility. Given how close Cronin is to his father, who travels to almost all of UC’s games, and considering that he shares custody of his daughter, the only reason he might be interested in the Minnesota job is that he wouldn’t have to worry about what conference he would be coaching in. Obviously, that’s not enough.

Cronin, who is under contract at UC through 2017, has said repeatedly that he wants to coach at his alma mater for the long term. He just finished his seventh year and has taken the Bearcats to three straight NCAA Tournaments. Next year, he will welcome 6-9 power forward Jermaine Lawrence, one of the highest-rated recruits he has landed at UC.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2013/04/0...eakingnews

(04-01-2013 05:49 PM)subflea Wrote:  That Minnesota job is going to be tough to fill, especially if they keep trying to get current head coaches to fill it. No head coach with a resume good enough to move into a better conference is going to want to take a job where you are almost destined to fail. They need to start focusing on assistants looking to move into head coaching positions.

I don't understand how an AD cans someone in a circumstance like this without a slam dunk hire already lined up.
Similar to the UCLA situation, although that SI article awhile back probably helped cook Howland's goose.

6 years for 17 million left on the table...

(04-01-2013 07:22 PM)JackieTreehorn Wrote:  

(04-01-2013 05:49 PM)subflea Wrote:  That Minnesota job is going to be tough to fill, especially if they keep trying to get current head coaches to fill it. No head coach with a resume good enough to move into a better conference is going to want to take a job where you are almost destined to fail. They need to start focusing on assistants looking to move into head coaching positions.

I don't understand how an AD cans someone in a circumstance like this without a slam dunk hire already lined up.
Similar to the UCLA situation, although that SI article awhile back probably helped cook Howland's goose.

It is mind boggling isn't it. Especially where it is coaches who have made the tourney, won lots of games, etc. you better have a plan when you pull that trigger. And Minnesota ought to get real if they seriously thought Cronin would want that job. Good luck to any school with no significant pedigree who shat on a guy like tubby. I hope they swing and miss a few more times...maybe Clem Haskins is available.