I have two stadium-related stories to cover today. One is about the increasingly obvious signs of shady dealings concerning the land under the new Yankee Stadium, and another is about two pieces of the old stadium heading to Tampa.
- In the Daily News yesterday, columnist Juan Gonzalez reported on yet another series of e-mails between city officials that may have some legal ramifications. The e-mails detail how the Bloomberg aides, according to Gonzalez, “secretly pressured city tax assessors to inflate the value of land under the new Yankee Stadium so the team could qualify for nearly $1 billion in tax-free bonds.” That’s what politicians call a bombshell. It’s tough to say what this means for the city or the Yankees. Assemblyman Richard Brodsky continues to investigate the issue, and at some point, he may subpoena all of the city’s e-mails concerning the land deal. Perhaps, in the end, he or the IRS can levy finds against the city or the Yankees. No matter the outcome, this is bad government.
- In rosier news, two scoreboards from Yankee Stadium are being shipped off to Legends Field. The scoreboards in question are new LED displays the Yanks purchased two years ago for $1 million. The team sold them to Hillsborough County for $250,000 each, and they’ll adorn the left and right field grandstands in Tampa. As long as they show the words to “Enter Sandman” during Spring Training, I’ll be happy.
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