June 11, 2009

Five years later...

Gothamist notes today in an article on how the New Jersey Nets' Brooklyn Atlantic Yards project is still up in air:

Flashback to the February 2, 2004 issue of the New Yorker, where in a Talk of the Town piece by Ben McGrath, FieldofSchemes.com's Neil deMause predicted, "I'd guess it's probably fifty-fifty the arena gets built entirely...I wouldn't be shocked if five years from now we're still arguing the logistics."

If you want to play the home game version of this, just repeat after me: When someone announces a new sports stadium or arena, it's only the beginning of what's typically a five- to ten-year debate. Corollary: How much it will end up costing, who'll end up paying for it, and what it will ultimately look like will bear almost no resemblance to the original plans.

In other words, pay no attention to the funny shapes.