DEIS: Project description; Cost of project

COST OF PROJECT

Draft EIS states:

State and City funding for the non-stadium portions of the proposed project. Estimated net total construction costs for the park space ($95.5 million in 2006 dollars) and parking garages ($234.8 million in 2006 dollars) were provided by NYCDPR and NYCEDC, respectively. The analysis is driven by the annual revenues that would be generated by the parking garages—approximately $3.8 million (in 2009 dollars), according to NYCDPR.

The analysis of the stadium construction impacts is based on a total construction cost of $749 million (2006 dollars).

City would spend a cumulative total of $574 million on stadium upkeep. The proposed project would replace that stadium, and the City would experience a capital savings of $574 million over the next 30 years.

At the same time, the City currently collects rent on the existing Yankee Stadium. These are revenues that the City will no longer collect if the proposed stadium is constructed. According to ERA, this rent would amount to a cumulative total of $497 million over the next 30 years. This means that the net gain to the City (the capital savings less the foregone rent) would be approximately $77 million over the next 30 years.

Response:

The DEIS makes the statement that the Yankees will only pay for the new stadium. Other costs (construction of parking, construction of replacement parkland, demolition of old stadium, traffic mitigation improvements, etc) will either be paid for by the City, State or someone else. While it is good to see the Yankees offering to pay for their own stadium (as opposed to demanding the City build it in exchange for them not relocating to New Jersey), simply paying for the stadium cost itself is not enough. The Yankees will still be getting a very sweet deal financed by taxpayers with environmental costs to the community.

The analysis concerning the cost of maintenance of the current stadium versus future rent payments is misleading. According to the analysis, the city would lose $77 million dollars since the maintenance costs of keeping the old stadium would be higher than the rent costs. However, this amount is still less then the huge capital outlays that the city would have to make to build the non-stadium portions of this
project.