Now is the time for Blumenthal to declare war

[FAIRTIDES]

Yet Aresco touts Louisville... doesn't that end this speculation?

I use the word "might" a lot. But, Aresco is reacting to something when he ignores UCONN; even, as you point out, going so far as to tout a school that's scheduled to take-off in 2014. Maybe he knows UCONN's leaving is a fait accompli. Maybe SH has refused to take a loyalty oath, offer or not. Maybe a Law School Professor gave him a bad grade. Who knows? It's just incredulous to me that he just "forgets." It's like a Microsoft Mgr. forgetting to mention Windows(TM) in a list of company products.

 

[upstater]

I use the word "might" a lot. But, Aresco is reacting to something when he ignores UCONN; even, as you point out, going so far as to tout a school that's scheduled to take-off in 2014. Maybe he knows UCONN's leaving is a fait accompli. Maybe SH has refused to take a loyalty oath, offer or not. Maybe a Law School Professor gave him a bad grade. Who knows? It's just incredulous to me that he just "forgets." It's like a Microsoft Mgr. forgetting to mention Windows(TM) in a list of company products.

Maybe UConn refused to agree to the exit fee. That may have p'd him off. Depending on what happens with Maryland, there may be a precedent if the moment ever comes. Really, Aresco had no business suggesting any exit fee except for a 50% reduction. Anything more would have been punitive. Even the ACC's ludicrous $50 million fee is just 2.5x TV money. At $10 million, the AAC's fee is more than 5X TV money.

 

[whaler11]

I use the word "might" a lot. But, Aresco is reacting to something when he ignores UCONN; even, as you point out, going so far as to tout a school that's scheduled to take-off in 2014. Maybe he knows UCONN's leaving is a fait accompli. Maybe SH has refused to take a loyalty oath, offer or not. Maybe a Law School Professor gave him a bad grade. Who knows? It's just incredulous to me that he just "forgets." It's like a Microsoft Mgr. forgetting to mention Windows(TM) in a list of company products.

It certainly stands out that he never mentions them and I'm sure there is a reason.

It's hard to believe that so many people could know UConn has a deal to join another league... and there would be no real leak. The guy pathetically pumps up a school that really is leaving.

Conventional wisdom is often wrong - but the ACC doesn't want UConn. The Big 10 is not adding them any time soon no matter how many times people repeat that mantra here and the schools that run the Big 12 don't even want to expand.

Anyone who actually wanted UConn wouldn't wait because every minute they spend in the AAC devalues the programs. Why would anyone treat a potential asset in that fashion?

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Empty studio building, eh?

Because that's all that's there. A building.

I believe that ESPN is going to leave CT. If a state like Georgia or North Carolina would give them incentives to move, they would in a heartbeat. The owners of ESPN have no ties to CT, so I guess in 5 to 10 years they'll be gone...and sooner if CT sues ESPN for ignoring UConn.

 

[CL82]

I believe that ESPN is going to leave CT. If a state like Georgia or North Carolina would give them incentives to move, they would in a heartbeat. The owners of ESPN have no ties to CT, so I guess in 5 to 10 years they'll be gone...and sooner if CT sues ESPN for ignoring UConn.

Pretty unlikely.

 

[upstater]

I believe that ESPN is going to leave CT. If a state like Georgia or North Carolina would give them incentives to move, they would in a heartbeat. The owners of ESPN have no ties to CT, so I guess in 5 to 10 years they'll be gone...and sooner if CT sues ESPN for ignoring UConn.

You wrote "empty studio building."

Is it fair to say you've never seen ESPN's campus?

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Pretty unlikely.

Are you sure?? I guess people said that about Buick and Flint, Michigan or Silk and South Manchester - or Pratt-Whitney and East Hartford. If a state offer you $$$ to move a business - especially to a low tax state like NC from a high tax state like CT, you'll move your business.

Now, CT has good things going for it, but the cost of doing business is NOT one of them. (But then FL is not a good state for business, either. High energy taxes!)

 

[HuskyDogArt]

You wrote "empty studio building."

Is it fair to say you've never seen ESPN's campus?

I've seen it, but as I said, if someone offers $$ to move...you would...

 

[upstater]

I've seen it, but as I said, if someone offers to move...you would...

Someone is going to offer ESPN billions of dollars?

And ESPN is going to take it so it can be even further away from NY?

Is this what you're saying?

 

[upstater]

Are you sure?? I guess people said that about Buick and Flint, Michigan or Silk and South Manchester - or Pratt-Whitney and East Hartford. If a state offer you $ to move a business - especially to a low tax state like NC from a high tax state like CT, you'll move your business.

Now, CT has good things going for it, but the cost of doing business is NOT one of them. (But then FL is not a good state for business, either. High energy taxes!)

You're comparing thriving businesses to dying businesses. Buick moved from Flint to.... ???? Lansing and Detroit. That's where American built Buicks are made. Still in Michigan. The only other Buick is actually an Opel made overseas and rebranded. But it's still an Opel.

 

[CL82]

Are you sure?? I guess people said that about Buick and Flint, Michigan or Silk and South Manchester - or Pratt-Whitney and East Hartford. If a state offer you $ to move a business - especially to a low tax state like NC from a high tax state like CT, you'll move your business.

Now, CT has good things going for it, but the cost of doing business is NOT one of them. (But then FL is not a good state for business, either. High energy taxes!)

Yes, I am.

 

[Fishy]

I believe that ESPN is going to leave CT. If a state like Georgia or North Carolina would give them incentives to move, they would in a heartbeat. The owners of ESPN have no ties to CT, so I guess in 5 to 10 years they'll be gone...and sooner if CT sues ESPN for ignoring UConn.

There's about zero chance of that happening.

You can stop now.

 

[noeynox]

You wrote "empty studio building."

Is it fair to say you've never seen ESPN's campus?

Yeah, that thing is ginormous. While I wouldn't say nervous, it wouldn't be an easy or inexpensive move. And if they ever did leave, so fugging what?

 

[zls44]

Yeah, that thing is ginormous. While I wouldn't say nervous, it wouldn't be an easy or inexpensive move. And if they ever did leave, so fugging what?

Yeah, if it sucked a major revenue generating business out of Western CT, so what?

 

[noeynox]

Yeah, if it sucked a major revenue generating business out of Western CT, so what?

In case you haven't noticed, this state doesn't really seem to care about businesses leaving the state. Not to turn this into a cesspool discussion, but look at what is happening to the gun manufacturers. I don't advocate pushing any business out of the state. I hate people losing jobs, but the fact of the matter is when this state's politicians get a hair across their ass, they on businesses. You see it on the state and municipal level all the time.

My statement about them leaving who gives a fugg was only about uconn sports. This is a uconn sports board, and espn leaving woudn't affect uconn sports on any level so hence so what. Do I want to see people lose their jobs? Of course not.

 

[Marty Jackson]

You get

I believe that ESPN is going to leave CT. If a state like Georgia or North Carolina would give them incentives to move, they would in a heartbeat. The owners of ESPN have no ties to CT, so I guess in 5 to 10 years they'll be gone...and sooner if CT sues ESPN for ignoring UConn.

Is it possible for a business to up and leave, yes... Is it easy, not really. Is it cheap, no.

worked for a company that moved it's shared services down to S. Carolina from MA. Yes, the employees are cheaper. The occupancy costs are cheaper as well. However, the talent in S. Carolina was horibble, the education is horrible, and it took much longer than expected to get the necessary talent. Turnover is through the roof.
Not to mention, lost business due to poor customer service.

If ESPN wants to leave CT, they will leave. CT shouldn't be held hostage.

 

[upstater]

You get

Is it possible for a business to up and leave, yes... Is it easy, not really. Is it cheap, no.

worked for a company that moved it's shared services down to S. Carolina from MA. Yes, the employees are cheaper. The occupancy costs are cheaper as well. However, the talent in S. Carolina was horibble, the education is horrible, and it took much longer than expected to get the necessary talent. Turnover is through the roof.
Not to mention, lost business due to poor customer service.

If ESPN wants to leave CT, they will leave. CT shouldn't be held hostage.

WNY battled Ontario and Alabama for a big Toyota plant recently.

Toyota had to deal with insanely high taxes in Canada compared to NY. Alabama had very low taxes. Both NY and Ontario had abundant energy to provide (because of the Niagara Power Project). Both NY and Ontario had great education systems, whereas Alabama scored lower.

In the end, Toyota chose super high tax Ontario for the plant. Why? Educated workforce and cheap energy were the two bonuses. Insane taxes were a detraction. BUT--national health in Canada was another bonus for Toyota. Canada spends 10% of GDP on health care. The USA spends 20%+. That hurts and in the end, that was the deciding factor for them.

 

[auggie22]

I believe that ESPN is going to leave CT. If a state like Georgia or North Carolina would give them incentives to move, they would in a heartbeat. The owners of ESPN have no ties to CT, so I guess in 5 to 10 years they'll be gone...and sooner if CT sues ESPN for ignoring UConn.

Enticing companies to leave the northeast is an established practice. All of the fruit that is ripe to harvest has been harvested. Which is to say that the low hanging fruit is already gone.

When companies leave ny or nj for ct ( or the other way around ) they are likely doing so for incentives. Earlier in the year an insurance company relocated from Westchester to Stamford. Same labor pool and very little impact to their existing workforce. Free money.
Financial service companies without specialized facilities are very portable for the most part.

When companies leave ct for the south, they are likely doing so because the cost of labor is cheaper...not for the incentives. It is very costly for a company to move jobs elsewhere. 1000 jobs move to North Carolina, less than 400 people will follow. And most of them are given financial incentives ( bonus, promotion, move stipend ) to do so. Filling 600 positions is expensive both directly and indirectly. Government incentives usually do not fully compensate a firm for relocation costs and risks. These companies plan to make their dough back through long-term labor cost savings.

The companies that do these southern relocations generally share similar profile: high labor costs as a proportion of operating expenditures. They tend to have general facility needs and recruit generalized skill sets.

You will not see Morgan Stanley's prop trading desk move to Atlanta, the supply of labor there is too low therfore the cost of labor is too high. You might see them move to ct, bc they would be accessing virtually the same labor pool that they are in today.

The world's greatest cluster of asset management minds are in the tri-state. When bridgewater threatened to move operations out of state it was ny/nj where they threatened to move. Not Atlanta.

The same is true with ESPN's on air operations. TBS and TNT are backwoods operations and an exception. There are exactly two clusters of media in the US. LA and the tri-state. That's where the talent is because that's where the jobs are. And vice versa. This will not change just because the governor of Georgia throws around some incentives. Not to mention the fact that Espn sits on over a million square feet of specialized facilities, built over the last three decades.

 

[ruskin]

Christ if ESPN throws a hissy fit and wants to decamp with 6,000 employees and $8 gazillion worth of infrastucture & equipment because they're being asked to do a relatively minor favor to their neighbors, then Bring. It. On.

Edit: Bring. It. The. F. On.

 

[huskymedic]

Christ if ESPN throws a hissy fit and wants to decamp with 6,000 employees and $8 gazillion worth of infrastucture & equipment because they're being asked to do a relatively minor favor to their neighbors, then Bring. It. On.

Edit: Bring. It. The. F. On.

Rus... Did you ever get a response to your ?letters/conversations? with your local legislators on this matter?

 

[Nostical]

Enticing companies to leave the northeast is an established practice. All of the fruit that is ripe to harvest has been harvested. Which is to say that the low hanging fruit is already gone.

When companies leave ny or nj for ct ( or the other way around ) they are likely doing so for incentives. Earlier in the year an insurance company relocated from Westchester to Stamford. Same labor pool and very little impact to their existing workforce. Free money.
Financial service companies without specialized facilities are very portable for the most part.

When companies leave ct for the south, they are likely doing so because the cost of labor is cheaper...not for the incentives. It is very costly for a company to move jobs elsewhere. 1000 jobs move to North Carolina, less than 400 people will follow. And most of them are given financial incentives ( bonus, promotion, move stipend ) to do so. Filling 600 positions is expensive both directly and indirectly. Government incentives usually do not fully compensate a firm for relocation costs and risks. These companies plan to make their dough back through long-term labor cost savings.

The companies that do these southern relocations generally share similar profile: high labor costs as a proportion of operating expenditures. They tend to have general facility needs and recruit generalized skill sets.

You will not see Morgan Stanley's prop trading desk move to Atlanta, the supply of labor there is too low therfore the cost of labor is too high. You might see them move to ct, bc they would be accessing virtually the same labor pool that they are in today.

The world's greatest cluster of asset management minds are in the tri-state. When bridgewater threatened to move operations out of state it was ny/nj where they threatened to move. Not Atlanta.

The same is true with ESPN's on air operations. TBS and TNT are backwoods operations and an exception. There are exactly two clusters of media in the US. LA and the tri-state. That's where the talent is because that's where the jobs are. And vice versa. This will not change just because the governor of Georgia throws around some incentives. Not to mention the fact that Espn sits on over a million square feet of specialized facilities, built over the last three decades.

Very enlightening analysis.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

CT could get a much higher bang for their buck with those incentives than ESPN.

 

[RS9999X]

Ct lost 1/3 of its Financial Services jobs since 1990. Insurance, trading and hedge. The next 20 years should continue the bleeding. ESPN is an interesting case. Will Disney sell? I think they will. They've sold off virtually all of the ESPN properties outside of the Americas. Given the risk of technical change and Media Rights risk as teams like the Dodgers deal with Time Warner directly?

ESPN has a large campus. Is that the right model in 5 years? Remember when Sony purchased Columbia? Wait til the mouse sells China ESPN.

 

[RS9999X]

1989. An upstart Japanese Technology Company needs content and has US cash to burn.

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-27/news/mn-335_1_columbia-pictures-entertainment

 

[Carl Spackler]

Enticing companies to leave the northeast is an established practice. All of the fruit that is ripe to harvest has been harvested. Which is to say that the low hanging fruit is already gone.

When companies leave ny or nj for ct ( or the other way around ) they are likely doing so for incentives. Earlier in the year an insurance company relocated from Westchester to Stamford. Same labor pool and very little impact to their existing workforce. Free money.
Financial service companies without specialized facilities are very portable for the most part.

When companies leave ct for the south, they are likely doing so because the cost of labor is cheaper...not for the incentives. It is very costly for a company to move jobs elsewhere. 1000 jobs move to North Carolina, less than 400 people will follow. And most of them are given financial incentives ( bonus, promotion, move stipend ) to do so. Filling 600 positions is expensive both directly and indirectly. Government incentives usually do not fully compensate a firm for relocation costs and risks. These companies plan to make their dough back through long-term labor cost savings.

The companies that do these southern relocations generally share similar profile: high labor costs as a proportion of operating expenditures. They tend to have general facility needs and recruit generalized skill sets.

You will not see Morgan Stanley's prop trading desk move to Atlanta, the supply of labor there is too low therfore the cost of labor is too high. You might see them move to ct, bc they would be accessing virtually the same labor pool that they are in today.

The world's greatest cluster of asset management minds are in the tri-state. When bridgewater threatened to move operations out of state it was ny/nj where they threatened to move. Not Atlanta.

The same is true with ESPN's on air operations. TBS and TNT are backwoods operations and an exception. There are exactly two clusters of media in the US. LA and the tri-state. That's where the talent is because that's where the jobs are. And vice versa. This will not change just because the governor of Georgia throws around some incentives. Not to mention the fact that Espn sits on over a million square feet of specialized facilities, built over the last three decades.

I remember when ESPN was a f#cking trailer parked in a lot with a satellite dish on top, that we drove by on the way to the amusement park at Lake Compounce.

I don't know where it was, but I think it was FIshy's idea. THe state is always looking to pad the DOT budget, so that all those workers can stand around while one guy shovels gravel. I think West/Middle Street in Bristol is due for a 37 year plan of constant paving, and cones, and I think that the DOT should leave a very nice smooth, and no congestion pattern, for the workers at the Otis elevator facility, but leave everybody trying to get through to ESPN property (the term 'campus' used for ESPN property makes me want unlock the weapons storage and start target practice).......but leave everybody trying to get hrough there - inhaling tar and exhaust fumes.

I don't know why I write this now, except it's late at night, and it's warm in CT, and I can't wait for football season, and the intercollegiate sports world has been totally screwed by Disney's management, and ownership of ESPN.