Now is the time for Blumenthal to declare war

[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 shit 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.

 

[upstater]

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.

How much of that financial sector died after 2008? We know NYC has been hurt just as bad--not because the sector left, but because it doesn't even exist in the same size that it used to.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

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?

Yes, because I believe Atlanta will be the new Media area. I believe in 10 to 25 years NY city is not going to be the mecca for media.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

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.

Take lessons from the, always under construction, Cross Bronx Expressway.

 

[RS9999X]

How much of that financial sector died after 2008? We know NYC has been hurt just as bad--not because the sector left, but because it doesn't even exist in the same size that it used to.

The best chunk died during the DotCom boom when PC trading and internet sales became viable everywhere and the insurance company agency model shifted, and the hedge fund managers could afford living in Mahattan again.

That's really my point: there are technology and business challenges coming for an ESPN that might just make Bristol's entire Campus look like an obsolete model -- more expensive to maintain than to rebuild a leaner delivery model. It's one of the reasons I think the Mouse will sell. Dress up the property with big contracts, sell, and slowly get out of dodge. The talking heads model is changing. Advertising. Web Properties. Like any other business they have many back office functions amenable to outsourcing.

 

[RS9999X]

Yes, because I believe Atlanta will be the new Media area. I believe in 10 to 25 years NY city is not going to be the mecca for media.

You suffer the same conceit. Large companies will manage risk by splitting up into regionals to play one Governor off another for Tax Breaks. There's successful models for this today. It's easier to outsource specific operations under that model as well. They need some presence in the major cities to cut down on Talking Head travel and Guest Travel. Backoffice functions can be performed anywhere.

You can't build cars in the South because only Detroit has the highly skilled UAW workers. Ooops. Hedge Funds can't move to Boca or Singapore or Abu Dubai. Ooops. It's all mobile with few constraints on raw materials whether the raw materials be celebrity guests or coal deposits.

 

[zls44]

(the term 'campus' used for ESPN property makes me want unlock the weapons storage and start target practice)

Seriously, cut this out. It's terrifying crazy pants threat talk.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

First of all I am not a Republican, I am an independant and have no prejudice against either party. Blumenthal will sue anybody if it will get his name in the headlines and he has. Remember the lawsuit he filed when the first schools departed the BE? It really angered some people in the ACC and is probably the reason Louisville is in the ACC. Blumenthal is a whiney weakling who loves projecting the image of a tough guy.If Uconn needs an advocate chose somebody else.

Folks, I'm afraid Blumenthal is Little Lord Fauntleroy lost in a congress of Charlie Wilson's.