Ed:

I have to disagree. Just because the arena is privately funded, it doesn't
mean that the sight lines have to suck. How much more would it have cost,
percentage wise, to have the balcony 3 feet closer to the ice, or the seats
angled at a higher pitch (just like BU's privately funded Agganis Arena)? I
have been to Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, which is privately funded, and
it is light years ahead of the new Comiskey Park, Chicago, that was
primarily built with public money.

And for those not from Boston, the issue about Kraft and building a football
stadium was more about the arrogance of the family than NIMBY. If Jonathan
Kraft (Bob's son), who was wet behind the ears back then, had kept his mouth
shut when they had the big meeting at City Hall, my guess is they would have
found a way to the build the stadium in Boston. Although, as a taxpayer, I
am glad they didn't. Public money should be spent for the public good, not
for private gain. A political aside - I'm always amused (or is it bemused)
when our president pushes for taxpayer relief, especially since he made his
biggest (or only) financial killing on the sale of the Texas Rangers . . .
after their facility was financed by public money.

Greg



> From: "Moller Edward N" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 13:08:01 -0500
> To: "Greg Ambrose" <[log in to unmask]>, <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: RE: tickets
>
> Regarding Greg's comments on the Fleet Center.  I am not a fan of Jeremy
> Jacobs, but in this case I am coming to his and his arena's defense.
>
> For many years Boston area sport fans and concert goers suffered through
> the decrepit conditions of the old Boston Garden.  It was a horrible
> facility, although it did have its virtues.  For 35 years (no
> exaggeration) city leaders struggled to have a new arena built.  More
> often than naught it was those same leaders who provided the obstacles
> in getting the job done.  Strangely, the city leaders in question are
> collectively known as The Vault, which is what some people have applied
> as a nickname to the Fleet Center.  But I digress.
>
> Bob Kraft couldn't get a stadium built in Boston, because of all the
> NIMBY's.  He had to settle for Foxboro, and has been lionized for it.
> Rightfully so.  The largest stumbling block in building an arena in this
> town has always been taxes.  No one wanted public dollars to be used for
> a private facility, which is what the old Garden was and what the Fleet
> Center is today.  Jacobs, and his predecessors, only wanted breaks from
> the government in getting the infrastructure in place.  He placed his
> own financial risk in putting it all together.  Amazingly, Jacobs did
> it.
>
> So a private facility was built with private money after years of
> suffering, and all anyone is this town can do is complain about the
> quality of the new building.  Is it as good as some other major
> metropolitan arenas?  Probably not, but how many of those arenas of
> which the Fleet Center is compared were privately funded?  How many of
> those arenas assessed seat licenses?  Nobody else in this town was
> willing to step up to the plate to put his own money where his mouth
> was.  People complain that it's just a vehicle for Jacobs to sell hot
> dogs (concessions being his primary business) and that he's gouging the
> consumer.  Well, that's America.  When the Fleet Center was being
> constructed people around here were incredible excited, and all I hear
> today is disappointment.  My response to that is be careful what you
> wish for.
>
> The Fleet Center is far from perfect.  It's clean, it's accessible, and
> it's serviceable.  My biggest complaint is the acoustics (I miss hearing
> the sound of the skates on the ice), but I can live with that.  The
> concession and parking prices are outrageous, but no worse than they are
> at Fenway Park.  Jeremy Jacobs may be a horrible owner of an NHL
> franchise (which in my mind is a redundancy), but he deserves credit for
> getting the Fleet Center built.
>
> Edward N. Moller
> Controller and Assistant Treasurer
> Mount Ida College
> 777 Dedham Street
> Newton Centre, MA  02459-3323
> Tel  617-928-4515
> Fax 617-928-4581
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: - Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Greg Ambrose
> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 8:18 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: tickets
>
> Unfortunately, first row of the balcony at the Fleet is not like the
> first
> row of the balcony in the Garden. But it is not bad. My experience is
> that
> the farther you go up in the balcony, the worse it is. The angle that
> the
> seats were constructed isn't made for hockey unlike, say, the Bradley
> Center
> in Milwaukee (my favorite FF building).
>
> Bottom line is the Fleet (soon to be Bank of America or somesuch, BTW)
> is a
> terrible building. The concourse reminds me of an airport and the view
> from
> just about everywhere is average at best, considering what you pay. The
> most
> you can say is that it is clean and comfortable, with no chewing gum
> under
> the seats ar newspaper stuffed in the pa amplifiers like I used to see
> at
> the Garden.
>
> Oh well, at least I don't have to get on a plane this year.
>
> Greg Ambrose