Apropos of nothing ... or maybe not

[badinage]

Leonsis went before the DC City Council yesterday to make the case for increased signage to the outside of Verizon Center. Included in his remarks was this:

“It’s important to note that, unlike most major cities, the Verizon Center (or the MCI Center as it was then known) was built almost entirely with private funds. Today, nearly 15 years after the Verizon Center opened, we carry more than $125 million of debt related to the construction of the facility. When you add this to the cost and expense of operating the facility, and our three teams, it’s a substantial financial burden.

“Quite frankly, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage with many other teams in the NHL, the NBA and the WNBA. We compete with teams in other large markets who do not have the burden of paying for their buildings, such as those buildings in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey. That means we have less money to spend on our teams. Because of that, we work very hard to identify new sources of revenue, and one of those is the reason for my testimony today."

I had thought we were getting one of these new breed dot-com guys. Cuban 2.0

Evidently not.

[Jay81]

the best way for Ted to get revenue is to win.

Clearly by resigning Ernie and making trades like he made yesterday, winning is not a priority.

[miller31time]

the best way for Ted to get revenue is to win.

Clearly by resigning Ernie and making trades like he made yesterday, winning is not a priority.

C'mon, Ji....winning is definitely a priority to Ted and Ernie. It's just that that priority is capped out at about 40.

[mohammed10]

the best way for Ted to get revenue is to win.

Clearly by resigning Ernie and making trades like he made yesterday, winning is not a priority.

C'mon, Ji....winning is definitely a priority to Ted and Ernie. It's just that that priority is capped out at about 40.

miller- Since none of his teams consistently hit 40 wins anymore, maybe we should just all lower our expectations...

* sigh *

[Ruzious]

I take it as an owner doing what owners do - whining to get any dollar they can. But what really put him at a competitive disadvantage was spending an extra $30 mil to acquire 2 players who provide very little utility to the organization.

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

Demolish the Verizon Center and turn the space into upscale condos and change the team's name and build a new arena in PG County.

Problem solved.