CITI to possibly pull Mets stadium financing

[Diabeetus]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3881057

Some of the story:

Citigroup Inc is exploring the possibility of backing out of a nearly $400 million marketing deal with the New York Mets amid concerns about how lenders are using government bailout money, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Officials at Citigroup have made no final decision about whether to try to void the 20-year agreement, which includes naming the Mets' new baseball stadium after the bank, sources told the Journal.

The Mets deal has been attacked as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds. A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Monday that "no TARP [troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes."

I'm curious as to see what actually happens here.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Good.

 

[Football_Bat]

One way or the other, we all know who really are going to pay for it. The taxpayers.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

They should.

And all the companies which spent $3 mil on a SB ad after laying off tons of people need to fire their CEOs.

 

[Beef03]

If the government is handing them a boatload of bailout money, they certainly should noit be spending $20mil a year on the naming rights of a stadium. But how much of that contract can they wiggle out from? There has to be some kind of buyout clause in there, but how much would it cost them?

My other question is these businesses, whether they ar banks or car manufacturers still have to advertise to get their product and name out there. Their are extremes of frivolusness like the stadium deal, but how much would be considered too much and should the government be poking around and trying to say OK, this is acceptable, this isn't?

 

[slappy4428]

You have to do some kind of advertising and marketing... a company would be foolish not to. But there has to be a little more sense to it than naming rights...

 

[Diabeetus]

From the story: The Mets deal has been attacked as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds. A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Monday that "no TARP [troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes."

Also, if these companies come asking the government to bail them out, they lose their autonomy. You don't like it? Fine, but you're not getting our money.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

From the story: The Mets deal has been attacked as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds. A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Monday that "no TARP [troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes."

So ****ING what?

That money could be used to give people back their goddamned jobs.

As if they are being skilled parsing language. Whose SportsJournalists.com tagline is that Carlin quote about language?

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

BTW, Citi says it is keeping its Mets agreement.

It's like the prick who bought the Dolphins... Stephen M. Ross.... he has his hand out for government money.

 

[playthrough]

I'd love to see a cost/benefit analysis of what companies get out of naming rights for stadiums, bowl games, etc. Does anyone really notice or care anymore, except to ridicule these companies?

 

[nmmetsfan]

For the sake of discussion, who gets to decide how these companies spend their bailout money? The government? The government is hardly a harbinger of fiscal responsibility.

These bailouts are a lose-lose and we're already seeing it. In theory they should work, but a zebra doesn't change its stripes and a ****-poor company doesn't automatically become a good one.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

This will be fun to watch. ;D

 

[outofplace]

From the story: The Mets deal has been attacked as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds. A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Monday that "no TARP [troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes."

So ****ING what?

That money could be used to give people back their goddamned jobs.

As if they are being skilled parsing language. Whose SportsJournalists.com tagline is that Carlin quote about language?

That would be mine, and it definitely applies here.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I guess I know where all that extra money is going to go now that those cocksuckers have doubled my rate.

They need to ****ing die.

 

[Big Chee]

From the story: The Mets deal has been attacked as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds. A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Monday that "no TARP [troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes."

So ****ING what?

That money could be used to give people back their goddamned jobs.

As if they are being skilled parsing language. Whose SportsJournalists.com tagline is that Carlin quote about language?

Pretty much. My fiance is a VP at Citi who is basically putting together a presentation of her job duties which will soon be shipped over to Mexico since it's about $80K cheaper.

Help US!!!!

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

If they accept the bailout money, every member of the board of directors should be out cleaning parks on Saturday.

 

[dixiehack]

If they accept the bailout money, every member of the board of directors should be out cleaning parks on Saturday.

Fenian's slogan: The CCCiti never sleeps.

 

[Bob Cook]

I'd love to see a cost/benefit analysis of what companies get out of naming rights for stadiums, bowl games, etc. Does anyone really notice or care anymore, except to ridicule these companies?

I can see why a company like Lucas Oil does it. It's got a strong core buying base, and it's a way to put its name out to the masses as a way to expand the brand.

I can't see why, say, Energy Solutions did. How many fans entering the stadium or watching a Jazz game have a need to find someone to dispose of their nuclear waste?

 

[deskslave]

From the story: The Mets deal has been attacked as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds. A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Monday that "no TARP [troubled Asset Relief Program] capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes."

Also, if these companies come asking the government to bail them out, they lose their autonomy. You don't like it? Fine, but you're not getting our money.

So no TARP money will be used? OK, but that's still $20 million that could be used for something else. It's $20 million that could keep Citi from having to use $20 million of TARP money to do something else.

And yes, they jacked my rate up too. I find that to be bull**** of the highest order. I'd call and complain, but I'm pretty sure no one in Bangalore knows who the Mets are.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

For the sake of discussion, who gets to decide how these companies spend their bailout money? The government? The government is hardly a harbinger of fiscal responsibility.

These bailouts are a lose-lose and we're already seeing it. In theory they should work, but a zebra doesn't change its stripes and a ****-poor company doesn't automatically become a good one.

The government is the one giving them the money, hence, they can tell these companies how to spend it. If they don't want the government to tell them how to spend the money, then don't accept government money.

The first bailout bill didn't have any requirements on how businesses could spend the money. The next one is supposed to. I'm not optimistic it will, despite the tough words being spoken by the Obama administration. These companies love to find loopholes.