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Speaker 1: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports show where we

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Speaker 1: explored the big money issues in the world of sports.

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Speaker 1: I'm Michael Lauren, I'm Scarlett Film and Don Damien Sass.

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Speaker 1: This August marks twenty five years that aren'tthur ashe stadium

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Speaker 1: has been home to the US Open in Flushing Middle

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Speaker 1: Park and you always talk up how we discussed the

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Speaker 1: big money issues in the world of sports. This is

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Speaker 1: the largest tennis stadium in the world and the numbers

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Speaker 1: are huge. It generates more than seven hundred fifty million

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Speaker 1: dollars a year. You added up, and that's more than

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Speaker 1: eighteen billion dollars over twenty five years. Yeah, and on

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Speaker 1: top of that, we know the stadium has been home

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Speaker 1: to incredible moments in tennis history. The Williams sisters facing

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Speaker 1: off for the first time the first prime time women's

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Speaker 1: finals back in the two thousand one US Open. Remember

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Speaker 1: that The US Open two thousand and one and a

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Speaker 1: historical night for women's tennis. There's a lot of pop

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Speaker 1: and circumstance surrounding at the meeting of Serena Williams and

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Speaker 1: Penis Williams for the US Open Championship. First time prime

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Speaker 1: time a women's final at the us Obada. There it

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Speaker 1: is Venus Williams, the US Open champion over younger sister

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Speaker 1: Serena Huts January. For the incredible matchup between Andre Agassie

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Speaker 1: and James Blake in the two thousand five U S

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Speaker 1: Open quarterfinals that extended past one in the morning. Andre Agassi,

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Speaker 1: the number seven seed, has outlasted James Blake seven six

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Speaker 1: in the fifth set and unbelievable tiebreaker, and he will

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Speaker 1: advance to the semifinals. Oh lord, yeah, I remember that.

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Speaker 1: Or when Billy Jean King, a trailblazer in the sports world,

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Speaker 1: was honored at Arthur ash Stadium in two thousand six,

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Speaker 1: when the U s t A renamed the entire complex

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Speaker 1: and Flushing the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center as Sukasa.

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Speaker 1: My house is your house. This is our house. Love

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Speaker 1: you new Yard. It's funny to imagine that years ago

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Speaker 1: the unit the States Tennis Association was considering moving the

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Speaker 1: Open away from New York City. One of the people

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Speaker 1: we can thank for getting Arthur Ashe Stadium built in

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Speaker 1: keeping the US Open in the New York City area

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Speaker 1: is our guest today on the Bloomberg Business of Sports

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Speaker 1: David Off, Hutcher and Citron founding partner said, David Off said,

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Speaker 1: thank you for joining the Bloomberg Business of Sports. Good

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Speaker 1: to be here with you guys this morning. I still

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Speaker 1: can't believe that was twenty five years ago plus that

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Speaker 1: they were talking about, you know, maybe we can find

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Speaker 1: a new home and you said, oh, heck no, you know,

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Speaker 1: it was it is. It really could have been a

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Speaker 1: disaster for New York. Um. It was the perfect storm

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Speaker 1: in a lot of ways because Dave Dinklins was a

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Speaker 1: mayor and and he was for those of you remember

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Speaker 1: David Um, you know, he was the biggest tennis fan

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Speaker 1: ever UH and he wasn't gonna let it get away.

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Speaker 1: His posts commissioner that he got found at the time

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Speaker 1: was also a great tennis enthusiast, normal size of the

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Speaker 1: first deputy mayor, UH loves tennis. And Karl Weisbrod, who

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Speaker 1: did the actual negotiation for the Public Development Corporation part

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Speaker 1: of the city. UH is just one of the great negotiators.

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Speaker 1: So it came to get up with the man that

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Speaker 1: really wanted to keep it here. And I remember representing

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Speaker 1: the U. S t A at the time, and there

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Speaker 1: was a real feeling among the board members that they

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Speaker 1: wanted to move out. New York wasn't the place for tennis.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't the you know, the the gentlemanly uh way

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Speaker 1: of the audience that they used to We have screamers

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Speaker 1: and yellows, and people really get into it. And they

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Speaker 1: would have preferded to go to a place like Atlanta

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Speaker 1: had gone after him, several other places. We're making very

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Speaker 1: nice offers, and you know, David Dougg in his heels,

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Speaker 1: the mayor at the time, and made it happen. And

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Speaker 1: I gotta say, you know, you talked about some of

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Speaker 1: the numbers of what it meant to the city. It

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Speaker 1: is definitely definitely the most lucrative UM deal of any

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Speaker 1: stadium in the country. The city put no money into it,

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Speaker 1: the state put no money into it. It was backed

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Speaker 1: by guaranteed bonds which were paid off by the U U. S.

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Speaker 1: T A. UH is all their money, um they and

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Speaker 1: and they run it forty eight weeks out of the

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Speaker 1: year when he opened, isn't there. Uh. They run it

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Speaker 1: for the community. They have seen the citizen and junior classes. UH.

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Speaker 1: And it's just one of the great facilities. So it

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Speaker 1: would have been really something that that would have been

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Speaker 1: a two minus laws had we had had gone elsewhere.

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Speaker 1: I like the mention of screamers and yellers. I'm willing

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Speaker 1: to bet that there are some screamers and yellows in

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Speaker 1: Atlanta too. They might just do it a little bit differently,

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Speaker 1: but you know, I'm sure they're there too. I wonder

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Speaker 1: stood if you can explain a little bit about the

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Speaker 1: flight patterns from Laguardier Airport, because Flushing is right next

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Speaker 1: to the airport, and anyone who's ever seen a met

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Speaker 1: scheme in Flushing knows that you kind of when the

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Speaker 1: planes go by, you kind of sit back a little bit.

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Speaker 1: You know it's gonna go by. UM. Well, how big

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Speaker 1: of a not drawback, but how big of a factor

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Speaker 1: was that when you began negotiations and the agreement process?

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Speaker 1: It was a major factor. Um. There's no doubt that

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Speaker 1: if we didn't solve that problem, UM, that probably would

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Speaker 1: have been the deal breaker. Um. Al the Model was

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Speaker 1: the United States Senator at the time, UM, and he

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Speaker 1: actually held up the confirmation of the President's choice for

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Speaker 1: head of the f a A until he got agreement

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Speaker 1: to get this um Flyower issue resolved. And it really wasn't.

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Speaker 1: In reality, it shouldn't have been an issue because the

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Speaker 1: the way it restructured was in case of emergencies um there.

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Speaker 1: You know, obviously they are weather conditions whatever it may

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Speaker 1: be that requires that the flights of flying on their

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Speaker 1: normal pattern over the stadium, they would have to as

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Speaker 1: these there would be a um flying or return of

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Speaker 1: moneies that was owed by the U s t A.

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Speaker 1: If more than five flights in any hour were were

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Speaker 1: who flew over the stadium that was not part of

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Speaker 1: an emergency declared by the GUADI or UH leaders. So

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Speaker 1: and that's impossible. It would mean that there would be

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Speaker 1: five mistakes made by planes flying over in the morning

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Speaker 1: and most crowded air spaces in the country. So it

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Speaker 1: merely shouldn't have been as big an issue as it was.

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Speaker 1: UH and Giuliani U Junior during the campaign made it

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Speaker 1: saying that we would you know, we were taking away

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Speaker 1: the safety of people and flushing in the in the

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Speaker 1: Corona area by doing making this steel. It just wasn't

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Speaker 1: so um so. But there's no doubt that if we

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Speaker 1: didn't the South, but that in my mind, that would

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Speaker 1: have been the deal breaker. And I can remember standing

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Speaker 1: in the stadium on Labor Day weekend with David Dacin

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Speaker 1: putting his finger in my chest, say, this is gonna

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Speaker 1: couse me the elections. This issue is going is the

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Speaker 1: row is a fight that I that that this is

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Speaker 1: going to make a huge amount of difference in the election.

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Speaker 1: And I said, you know, this is what the board wanted.

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Speaker 1: It's a deal breaker. I have I'm just you know,

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Speaker 1: the messenger here, So it was I'm glad you brought

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Speaker 1: it up. I can remember that so vividly and knowing

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Speaker 1: that we were fighting a fight that really shouldn't have

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Speaker 1: had before. And eventually we wanted as you know, in

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Speaker 1: the twenty five years of the stadium, there's never been

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Speaker 1: a problem with flyovers. Uh, And if there's an emergency,

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Speaker 1: everybody understands it, and the tennis players understand it. See,

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Speaker 1: And I wonder if we can't tast forward twenty five

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Speaker 1: years here. You know, you mentioned Flushing, you mentioned Queens.

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Speaker 1: You know it's called it's entering City Field. The New

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Speaker 1: York City Mayor Eric Adams has recently thrown his support

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Speaker 1: behind the proposed construction of a twenty five thousand seats

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Speaker 1: soccer stadium just around city field and in Queens right.

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Speaker 1: So my question for you is, having lived through this before,

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Speaker 1: what are the hurdles you know, to to the creative,

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Speaker 1: to the to the establishment of the stadium and can

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Speaker 1: they be ironed out in time for the World Cup. Yeah?

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Speaker 1: You know, if if the mayor and a city field

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Speaker 1: it's talked about non park land, that um it's they're

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Speaker 1: not using any part of what's designated within the fleshing

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Speaker 1: Corona Park. I think it can be. I can tell

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Speaker 1: you from experience now just taking a small part of

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Speaker 1: the park for the for the US Open to a

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Speaker 1: span and that was the fight um in um. I

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Speaker 1: couldn't believe you know when we faced when I was

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Speaker 1: slas detained to do to represent you a city on

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Speaker 1: the opening and wipe to be against the US Open

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Speaker 1: expanding with one stadium in the park. Well, there were

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Speaker 1: a lot of people and because it's taking park land

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Speaker 1: and it requires not only local community boards, the city

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Speaker 1: council of the mayor and in the state legislature for

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Speaker 1: alienation of park park land anywhere in the state that

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Speaker 1: it was it was a three year fight. If the

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Speaker 1: stadium they talked about any part of the park, they'll

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Speaker 1: never get this ready for But if it's on purely

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Speaker 1: private land or other other than park Land, it is doable.

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Speaker 1: This is horribly callous when I talk about Serena Williams,

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Speaker 1: but she's great for business for the US Open because

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Speaker 1: this is it for her career. This is gonna be

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Speaker 1: the last time she's gonna play in the US Open.

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Speaker 1: Can you take us through that? Ticket sales have been

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Speaker 1: off the hook from what I understand. Absolutely, you know

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Speaker 1: the heavy so often there is an attraction that brings

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Speaker 1: people out more than they normally would be in and

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Speaker 1: Serena is certainly one who tracks. And the fact that

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Speaker 1: this is gonna be her last tournament that she's retirement

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Speaker 1: from the professional retiring from the professional tennis UH field

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Speaker 1: UH is some of your people want to see so

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Speaker 1: I hope as a tennis fan and there's a a

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Speaker 1: New York person, I hope that she gets right as

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Speaker 1: those as far as she can UH in this tournament

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Speaker 1: so that people keep coming to the stadium. It'll be

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Speaker 1: it'll be quite exight to see her in her last performances.

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Speaker 1: I do want to tell one story about at the

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Speaker 1: Rational if you guys that time, Yeah, because as you know,

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Speaker 1: what's out to that stadium they're gonna be playing in

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Speaker 1: UH and and if anybody deserves a stadium named after him,

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Speaker 1: it's out the ash. And during the time that we

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Speaker 1: will fighting to get to the state and the expansion

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Speaker 1: of the US Open, the footprint to put in the

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Speaker 1: new stadium, UM, we had to go before the four

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Speaker 1: community playing boards that that encompass fresh and Corona, UH Parks,

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Speaker 1: Frona Park Um and Asa asked would come with us

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Speaker 1: to each one of these meetings and to the and

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Speaker 1: then eventually to the ball board meeting. And I tell

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Speaker 1: you you never meant a Night's a guy and more

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Speaker 1: of a gentleman than as to ask. And he would

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Speaker 1: tell his story of growing up in Virginia and UH

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Speaker 1: and playing in a public court. And he said, if

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Speaker 1: he didn't have that ability to play in that public

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Speaker 1: court and be affordability to play there and the teachers

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Speaker 1: and mentors who helped him there, he would not be

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Speaker 1: who he was. And most importantly when he won the

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Speaker 1: US Open, when he was in in Westside Tennis Club

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Speaker 1: in Farest Hills, he won, he was open there, but

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Speaker 1: he couldn't be a member of the club. He said,

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Speaker 1: that's how important it is for a a public facility,

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Speaker 1: a punt. It's owned by the City of New York

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Speaker 1: and least to the Tennis Association, one of the people

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Speaker 1: who played tennis, and it was I mean it was

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Speaker 1: for anybody had any doubts that this is the right

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Speaker 1: place at the right time for that expansion. Has put

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Speaker 1: it the rest. He was fantastic. Old man bar talking

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Speaker 1: just a very quick story about Arthur Ash. I'm a

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Speaker 1: big game show fan. One of my favorite game shows,

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Speaker 1: America says, and they put up the name the top

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Speaker 1: seven tennis players and one and they put the initials

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Speaker 1: up a A. Oh, there's Arthur Ash. Yeah, they went

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Speaker 1: Andrea Agacy. So this adopted New Yorker was like, what

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Speaker 1: the hell? What just happened here? Well, my congressman is

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Speaker 1: gonna hear about this. But but my point is is

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Speaker 1: that and by the way, the contestants said Arthur Ash also,

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Speaker 1: and she got it wrong too, just like I did

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Speaker 1: at home. My point is Arthur Ash has made such

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Speaker 1: a big impact in the sports. Like you said, said that,

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Speaker 1: you can't measure the magnitude of what this man meant

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Speaker 1: for the sport. Yea. And it was one of my

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Speaker 1: with him. Um. It was just it was It was

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Speaker 1: one of the real great moments of what I what

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Speaker 1: I do in this city. I gotta ask this, this

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Speaker 1: is unrelated to sports. How in the world did you

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Speaker 1: wind up on Richard Nixon's enemies? Well, that's a good question,

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Speaker 1: and I just did reason into you about it, because

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Speaker 1: there's only two of us left on that list that

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Speaker 1: are alive. You know, it could have been anything most

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Speaker 1: likely to me, but John Lindsay. I always at that

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Speaker 1: time got paid to John Lindsay, UM and Um Rixon

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Speaker 1: who actually Lindsay was on his short list for vice

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Speaker 1: president and D eight, so you know, he held him

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Speaker 1: in harvey guard. But as we got closer to seventy

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Speaker 1: two and and John changed his party for a lot

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Speaker 1: of different reasons, to the Democratic Party and ran in

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Speaker 1: the Democratic presential primaries, Nixon obviously saw him as an enemy, uh,

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Speaker 1: and as someone who could and you know he was

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Speaker 1: so paranoid in that White House. Uh. But you couldn't,

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Speaker 1: you know, John, he was a white Knight. I mean

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Speaker 1: he could he couldn't get to him. So the only

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Speaker 1: thing I could figure out is like. And then's in

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Speaker 1: the explanation on on that list that they had as

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Speaker 1: to why they chose the people they chose. They said

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Speaker 1: about me that I, you know, I was out of

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Speaker 1: his political movement. You you knocked me down. You not

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Speaker 1: put his politics out. So I'm saying it nice. He

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Speaker 1: was much Laura in that particular paragraph. But at any rate,

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Speaker 1: the so I was they thought of for you know,

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Speaker 1: taking on lindsay if you can get to me, Actually

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Speaker 1: they couldn't. Uh, but I do do tell you since

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Speaker 1: you ask that it was held for the next twenty

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Speaker 1: years because once it was put in the process, the

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Speaker 1: I ls the Attorney General news I had my life

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Speaker 1: was not pleasant. Um, he overcame it. I do well,

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Speaker 1: I can't complain, and it was. It was a great

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Speaker 1: moment at the time to be an enemy to state

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Speaker 1: Richard Nixon. But for the next twenty years it was

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Speaker 1: a problem. Said before we let you go, I just

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Speaker 1: have to ask one more question to Um. You obviously

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Speaker 1: are renowned for your ability to guide major development projects

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Speaker 1: through New York City and its complex approval process. The

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Speaker 1: New York City Football Club has been trying to find

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Speaker 1: a home of his own since playing its first season.

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Speaker 1: What is the single best piece of advice you'd be

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Speaker 1: able to give the club and its owners when it

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Speaker 1: comes to trying to figure out how to get this

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Speaker 1: done on the right track. You know, I never what

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Speaker 1: that Yankee Stadium and what they were doing up there

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Speaker 1: was right again, it was taking a park. Um And

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Speaker 1: and I can't tell you how difficult a fight that is.

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Speaker 1: People this city. People fights by every blade of glass

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Speaker 1: or a little baseball field that exists. And rightfully so.

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Speaker 1: Uh So, I think that the idea of Queens which

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Speaker 1: has everything going for it in terms of transportation all.

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Speaker 1: If they're doing in the industrial part, which he doesn't,

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Speaker 1: it's not on park land. They're in the right place.

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Speaker 1: They got a man is willing to listen, obviously, he

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Speaker 1: said so. Um And if they work along with that community,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot of people in particularly among the Spanish

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Speaker 1: speaking people who live and play in Queens, uh that

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Speaker 1: will support them if they do it so it butts

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Speaker 1: the park, it doesn't take away from the park. That's

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Speaker 1: the only advice I can give them, said David Off,

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Speaker 1: the man who was a mover and shaker for Arthur

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Speaker 1: Ash Stadium to get it built and to keep the

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Speaker 1: US open in the New York City area. Thank you

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Speaker 1: so much, Sid for joining us here on the Bloomberg

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Speaker 1: Business of Sports. We really do appreciate it my pleasure,

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Speaker 1: I thank you. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm Michael Barr, along with Scarlett fud and Damian sass

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Speaker 1: Hour catches here each and every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

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Speaker 1: exploring the world of money in sports. And catch me

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Speaker 1: on Twitter at Big Bar Sports. I'm on Twitter at

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Speaker 1: Scarlett ful and I'm on Twitter at d sass Hour.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, you're listening to Bloomberg Business of

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Speaker 1: Sports on Bloomberg Radio around the world.