This was a home run. Even the boss looked pleased in the news pictures. After all, building a new stadium nowadays can be a somehwat dicey, if not pricey affair — especially in this city. Wasn’t it interesting how news of Bruce Ratner’s new Brooklyn home for the Nets popped in the media in the immediate aftermath of the west side stadium debacle? Coincidental? No way. In our business, timing is everything, and the strategists reasoned that Messrs. Silver and Bruno couldn’t put the kabash on two stadiums in one week.
Wishing to get some of that action, George Steinbrenner let loose his own auspicious plan for the Bronx, which smartly included a preservation-type message to neutralize the historical landmark, baseball legacy crowd. The coverage had something for everybody. It was unanimously glowing — expect perhaps for the Times’s architectural critic — a transplant from the L.A. Times. Expect less glowing details to emerge in the coming months. A story that sounds too good to be true probably is.