Video: NJ Gov. Christie tells Nets, “We don’t want you”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said good riddance to the Nets who move to New York next season.
“My message to them is, goodbye,” Christie said. “You don’t want to stay, we don’t want you.”
The Nets have played the last two years at the Prudential Center Arena — the high-tech home built by the city of Newark and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils in 2007.
Real estate developer Bruce Ratner bought the Nets in 2004. He always had a plan to move the team to Brooklyn, N.Y. The Nets’ played in Newark as they waited for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to be completed.
“That’s one of the most beautiful arenas in America they have a chance to play in, it’s in one of the country’s most vibrant cities, and they want to leave here and go to Brooklyn?” he asked. “Good riddance, see you later. I think there’ll be some other NBA team who may be looking to relocate and they might look at that arena and the fan base in the New Jersey and New York area and say, `This is an opportunity to increase our fan base and try something different.’”
The Nets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-87, in their final home game of the season Monday night.
They move to 22 and 43 on the season.
Of course, Governor Christie seems to ignore the fact that unless the Knicks and Nets approve otherwise, a third NBA franchise is currently prohibited from relocating to the greater New York City area. And the parts of Jersey not excluded by the Knicks/Nets territorial monopolies can likely be blocked by the Philadelphia 76ers.
If Governor Christie (or a potential owner) were to sue the league and claim that this is a violation of anti-trust law, that would be interesting.
One for the Governor who I don’t really care for. Pro sports is a huge ripoff. Over paid men play children’s games and act like jerks. Taxpayer dollars are spent to build stadiums and the taxpayer gets nothing in return. Plenty of studies show that cities lose money everytime a sports facility is built on their dime. Pro sports is riggred and the fans get screwed. Of course I can’t imagine why people pay to see games anyway. I’m a former USN SEAL and I can tell that the best athletes in the world are in our Special Operations Forces. They are all in all the time. They play to win and the stakes are much higher than any game.
Governor Christie is my man! He tells it like it is! The Nets are a “BUM” team, moving to Brooklyn, really fits, they once had the Brooklyn Dodgers, there team term was the BUMS! They moved, though, to a real city, LA, and now they are a real team, not BUMS! Good Luck, NETS, you are now even closer to the ocean! Your next adventure, should be Europe! They play more up to your standards!
Yeah this steaming pile of blubber that sucks food through a giant, always moving mouth, is full of stuff like this. His life is lying and eating.. What a POS. I hope we are going to call them the BROOKLYN NETS. In yo face fatboy…
Yes Governor,
The Nets would rather be in BROOKLYN, NY (my home town). Who wouldn’t want to be in Brooklyn over Newark, NJ? The Barclay Center is new and more spectaular the the very fine arena in Newark (yes it is an excellent facility). Don’t sour grape it Governor, the owner never made any bones about eventually moving back to NY! Just be glad that Northern NJ had NBA basketball many years, a competative one for a couple of those years!