Phase I – Inspiration
“The Meadowlands Xanadu project is expected to generate 20,000 permanent jobs in New Jersey – translating into $1.24 billion in personal income annually – and 19,000 construction and related jobs – equal to $1.17 billion in annual personal income. The project is estimated to produce $133 million annually in state and local tax revenue.” – BusinessWire, December 3, 2003
Phase II – Entanglement
“The project had been scheduled to open [March 2009], but that date was pushed back indefinitely in March amid news that project lender Xanadu Mezz Holdings — an affiliate of Lehman Brothers — had stopped funding its share of construction costs… Xanadu then sued the Lehman affiliate, seeking $11 million immediately and $25 million overall. A Xanadu attorney wrote in court papers that failure to produce the promised funds would put Xanadu ‘at grave risk of failure…’
“[NJ Sports Authority Carl] Goldberg said that ‘the likelihood of a facility this far along in its completion not being finished and not opening is de minimus,’ Goldberg said. ‘It will be finished and it will open.'” – NorthJersey.com, March 3, 2009
Phase III – Panic
“Because of the legal battle and the construction delay, Real Capital Analytics, a research company that tracks real estate investments, has listed Meadowlands Xanadu as the largest of $9.2 billion worth of troubled assets in the New York area. But Dan Fasulo, a managing director of the research group, said he did not think the center would be suspended indefinitely. ‘In my opinion, the project is too big to fail at this point and will be completed,’ he said.” – New York Times, May 19, 2009
Phase IV – Search for the Guilty Ones
“[Billionaire Developer Steve] Ross is expected to announce soon that he has assembled the $500 million to $700 million in new investment needed to complete the project — though the grand opening probably would not happen before mid-2011.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, whose district encompasses the Meadowlands Sports Complex, said the name change did not surprise him. ‘I think the success of the Ross companies, from what I’ve read, is to re-brand the product if it has struggled,’ Sarlo said. ‘The timing here is great for the potential of jobs here, given the difficult economic times…’
“The long-stalled project has been called Xanadu since the fall of 2002, when now-defunct Mills Corp. launched a bid that beat out five rivals as the Sports and Exposition Authority board’s selection for a Meadowlands arena-site redevelopment project.
“Colony Capital took over the project from Mills in 2006, but the project ran into serious financial problems in March 2009, and little work has been done since then. The exterior, however, is nearly finished, aside from revisions to the much-criticized color scheme. ” – NorthJersey.com, May 14, 2010
Phase V – Punishment of the Innocent
“So yeah, the place is a barrel of laughs, except that it has already cost New Jersey taxpayers $1 billion in financing, tax breaks and highway improvements.” – Curbed.com, May 4, 2011
Phase VI – Prizes, Awards and Promotions for the Uninvolved
“An executive for the developer of the American Dream Meadowlands project said Wednesday that work at the site would begin early in March and that the long-delayed entertainment and shopping destination would open at the Meadowlands Sports Complex by autumn 2014.
“In an informal appearance before the Bergen County Improvement Authority, Tony Armlin said crews would begin working before the complicated financing for the project was in place. Armlin, the project director for the Triple Five company, said he expected the financial structure — involving both public and private sources — would be completed by May.
“Armlin told the board that the BCIA would be asked to serve as a “conduit” issuer for $400 million in bonds backed by tax incentives sought by the developer from the state and the borough of East Rutherford, the host community for the complex.
“He said the bonds would be offered to investors on a ‘non-recourse’ basis and would pose ‘no risk’ to the county, the borough or the state.
“‘The bond purchasers will take on the risk, and they will be aware of that before they buy them,’ Armlin said.” – NorthJersey.com, February 21, 2013
Phase VII – Burning the Evidence and Burying the Bodies
“More than three years after Governor Christie came to the Meadowlands Sports Complex to trumpet a new vision for the stalled Xanadu shopping and entertainment project, he returned on Monday to unveil revised plans with officials from Triple Five, the new developer of the revamped project now dubbed American Dream Meadowlands.
“The latest announcement came with plenty of new details, including a revised opening date target of fall 2016; the unveiling of a planned 20-story “drop ride” billed as the world’s tallest; and renderings of the proposed 639,000-square-foot indoor amusement park and water park that will feature 80-foot-high glass walls that allow drivers on nearby highways to see in — and park revelers to see out…
“Gordon MacInnes, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, criticized the state’s endorsement of a $390 million grant from the Economic Development Authority that he described as ‘the largest business tax subsidy New Jersey has ever awarded.’
“Triple Five spokesman Alan Marcus said that the grant poses ‘no risk to taxpayers’ because no money is put out up front by the state. The developer gets the tax savings only if the project is completed, and then only via a portion of tax revenues refunded for a limited time frame, he added.” – NorthJersey.com, April 28, 2014
So, New Jersey, after all of that, what have we learned???
Phase I – Inspiration
“EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Developers and elected officials ratcheted up demands on Wednesday for a statewide referendum to expand gambling to the northern part of the state, a display of public pressure timed to coincide with the unveiling of a proposed $1 billion Hard Rock Casino in the Meadowlands.
“The casino would feature 5,000 slot machines and 200 tables for gambling, along with a giant guitar that operators said could be visible from Manhattan. It would be located west of New York City, adjacent to MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and New York Jets play.
“‘We are not looking to build slots in a box,’ said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, while releasing the proposal at Meadowlands Racetrack. ‘We believe this will compete with anything in the world.’
“Operators projected the casino could initially generate at least $400 million in annual tax revenue and create 5,000 jobs. Its doors could open by next summer or early 2017, they said.” – Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2015
What have we learned? Nothing. Not one damned thing.