The Knicks Won Big. New York's Economy Won Bigger.

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0:42Welcome back to The Deal. I'm Jason Kelly alongside my partner, Alex Rodriguez. Alex, neither of us is in New York at the moment, but I was there a day or two ago. You're headed there. Let me tell you, it is the most rocking city on the planet right now because a 53-year drought was broken, and broken in some of the most spectacular fashion I've ever seen in sports. I'm having a hard time capturing from a cultural perspective, from a business perspective, from like a soul perspective, what this means for New York City. What's your take? It's still so cool as a New Yorker to hear the phrase New York Knicks, 2026 world champions.

1:25because as you and I, you're a friend, and I have other friends that are huge Knicks fans, my brother included, they thought in their lifetime they would never see this. Even my brother, who's 61, he doesn't remember the Willis Reed days and the Walter Frazier, so he was in tears. And if you step out, you know, I think New York needed a big win that was far beyond sports, and that's exactly what this Knicks team delivered. And to see block parties, I could imagine that was probably how it was in the 30s and 40s in New York, where people would come together with no social media. But we do have the luxury of social media to witness this.

2:02And look, a city that's not easily moved and easily impressed, the Knicks delivered and they did both. It was unbelievable. I mean, I really witnessed it sort of largely through the eyes of my two 20-something-year-old sons and my eight-year-old daughter, for that matter, who were just completely obsessed. All their friends were obsessed. You couldn't have a business meeting. You couldn't have a social gathering without talking about the Knicks. I mean, every single conversation led back to the Knicks, no matter who it was with. And, you know, watching everyone just engage on such a meaningful and ongoing level.

2:43And then I have to tell you, you know, after all, this is the deal. This is Bloomberg. You know, I was in the city on Wednesday night. So for game four, and I took a city bike from a viewing party and I was hustling to get to Grand Central to get home for the second half. and there were lines outside of every bar like every place you went I mean there was just like everybody was was engaged in it and so you're talking hundreds of millions in marginal economic impact everything's bigger in New York and and this just hit it hit on such a high level it's insane. I mean, it hits every mark, right?

3:28Like socially, emotionally, it brings families together. I mean, I've seen people crying that hadn't seen families for years and they came together over this next run. And I can just tell you this, Jason, as a Yankee, not all 53 years are created equal. I can tell you this, 53 years in New York City is like 253 years. So I think Jim Dolan is a big winner. I thought he delivered a great message. I think this is great for the NBA, for the morale of the city. And my goodness, and look out for the San Antonio Spurs. They're going to be around for a long time. And I'll tell you one last thing here.

4:07I was walking through Central Park last week. And to your point about everyone talking about it, I went through one little huddle of firemen. And they were talking strategy about how you attack Cat and Wim Bay and blah, blah, blah. Then the other people, I had a couple of ladies who was like a nurse or something. And she was talking to her patient walking in the wheelchair. He goes, you know, there's something about that Wemby. He's a real jerk. And that was him. And I'm like, oh, my God. And then I go somewhere else. And someone is like the whole city was captivated. And look, we were there in 09.

4:34You were there in 09 when we won. It's a fraction of the euphoria that you feel in the city right now. Yeah, it's crazy, too. And, you know, and later on, we're going to hear from Jeannie Pack, who's the head of the Economic Development Corporation for New York. and she gets into some of the numbers and what they generated. So stay tuned for that. But I think it's also interesting to think about, and I would love your perspective on this because you're literally at the table. I don't think the NBA could have asked for anything more than this. I mean, it was the, with all due respect to your Timberwolves, who played great in the playoffs, But this was an unstoppable team, but also running into, and I think you alluded to this, what's probably the team of the future in the NBA.

5:26I mean, certainly Wemby, Victor Wembinama is a superstar in the making, and their time will come. It looked like for a minute, maybe their time was now, but Jalen Brunson begged to differ. Cat, obviously a former Timberwolf himself. I do wonder from your perspective, how does the NBA, for lack of a better term, capitalize on something like this? Well, I think they're just going to create so much content. I can see already 10 documentaries being created as we speak. I had a friend that was recently for Game 5 in Hawaii, and he goes every year. And he goes to this particular bar where the finals are on this time.

6:09There's always, you know, 40, 60, 80 people. He said there was over 400 people going crazy, all wearing Knicks fans, in Hawaii at 2.30 in the afternoon for a start. I think the NBA literally hit the lottery with this. It was a perfect storm. poetic justice where you look at a guy like Jalen Brunson and Kat and the incredible job that Leon Rose did with World Wide West and obviously Jim Dolan you still have to start putting Jalen Brunson in the conversations of the New York greats Jeter Moriano I'm talking about greats with multiple championships Lawrence Taylor Eli Manning but he is up in a in a very high level and forever I believe will be a nick until he's doesn't want to anymore yeah no I think that's exactly right and And, you know, there is a stage that New York provides.

6:57And again, you can speak to this. And I remember, it's funny, I was thinking about Brunson in sort of a funny context. Going back to, I think, the first season of the deal, you and Michael Strahan talking about how different it is once you win a championship. That it's one thing to play in the league, to play at a professional level, but to win a championship and to win a championship in New York allows you, I think, I think you can speak with a lot of confidence to this, allows you to transcend in a way that you can't otherwise. From a business perspective, from a visibility perspective, from an economic perspective, just for yourself, because you didn't just play in New York.

7:45You won a championship in New York. And the ceiling, there is no ceiling when that happens. That's exactly right. And there's a reason why I never saw Walt Frazier play or Willis Reed, and I still hear about him all the time from my brother, is because they were champions. And you're that forever. I mean, there's not a day that walks by, Jason, that goes by that somebody walking the street says, thanks for 09, thanks for 09. Well, Jalen Brunson and that whole New York roster, who, by the way, will never be forgotten. But it's very hard to have a New York team that is hard not to love. And this roster is very lovable.

8:25They may not like the Knicks and all the craziness, but it's very hard to see a guy like Jalen Brunson. If you have a son, that's exactly how you want him to act. And by the way, one of the greatest moments was the father-son, Rick Brunson, and Jalen hugging and crying. My God, if this didn't have a little bit of everything, poetic justice was served. Well, and it's interesting. One more sort of deal point on this. And I haven't seen as much made of this, and maybe it's just because you and I love the business of all this, and so we're more likely to talk about it than others. But let's not forget, Jalen Brunson took less money to stay in New York to free up space so that Leon Rose could build the team around him that he built.

9:09And without building that team, this doesn't happen. I mean, listen, Brunson, I keep saying this, transcended. I mean, the Game 5 performance, 45 points, I mean, literally matches Jordan. I mean, that's insane, just to say out loud. on literally the biggest stage, on an away court. But that decision that he made, that economic decision that he made for himself, really sets the stage, sets the table for this team to do what it does. And it's sort of, it's an interesting reminder that sometimes you have to not just invest in yourself, but invest in what's around you in order to be successful. So I think you're right.

9:50I think that this story is going to be told so many different ways. and I have to think that whether it's in basketball, and you can speak to this, whether it's the NBA, the WNBA, but even the NFL, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, people are deconstructing this roster. They're deconstructing how this happened because there were some really key decisions that were made that put this all together, and then you just had to have a little bit of magic. This was a team of destiny. Jason, the postseason for the NBA was one that reminded me of the 90s Jordan. I mean, every game basically had, especially at the peak, over 20 million viewers.

10:29Yes. It's just been phenomenal. And I do want to give a shout out. First of all, Jalen Brunson on that piece, he'll never buy a meal or buy a drink for the rest of his life in that city. He owns it now. He's officially the mayor forever. And I do want to give one special shout out to Carl Anthony Towns, who we traded to the Knicks and changed for Randall and DiVincenzo. Dante, I could not be more happy. A change of narrative. The guy's been a sweetheart his whole life. He's been misunderstood. And when I saw him up there, in some ways reminded me of 09, when I was able to take that monkey off my back, I could not be happier for Kat, who well, well deserved being a world champion.

11:12Yeah, absolutely. And a guy who is definitely, and you've seen it, You and I both saw him last year at the Bloomberg Power Players Summit where he was speaking. He's a guy who's embracing New York in a big way. And as alluded to earlier, that's only going to get bigger and bigger because now not only is he a New York Knick, he's part of the New York Knicks world championship team. And that carries a lot of weight and has a lot of currency. So coming up a little bit more on what's going on in New York at the bottom line for the city. This is a city that's invested deeply in sports. And it's interesting, Alex, in this conversation with Jeannie Pack, we talked not just about the Knicks, but about how baseball, your former team, the Yankees and the Mets, they're going to contribute about$800 million in economic development and economic impact over the course of this season to the five boroughs.

12:06You've got a big soccer stadium that's being built out by Citi Field. So sports, you know it better than anyone, is so deeply ingrained in the culture and maybe more importantly, the business and the economics of New York. So what a moment for New York. I mean, I have to say, the vibes are great. I mean, beyond all the money, beyond the sports of it all, it's just like everybody's walking around happy. And you just love to see it. It's great. And I will say this, too. You asked a question earlier about where does the NBA go from here? is not just the economic ripple effect in New York City or the five boroughs.

12:44It's also domestically around the other 49 states. It's also around the globe, what happened in France. If you collect all those numbers, every bar down here in Miami was packed watching heat play. It doesn't matter where you go, the conversation was happening. So I don't think you can quantify it to just dollars and cents, but sentiment, feeling, and memories that you have with your friends, family, and loved ones that will never go away. Yeah, there's nobody, aside from the Knicks and everybody involved in that, no one's happier than Adam Silver right now, the commissioner of the NBA. So what a year, what a year.

13:16All right, coming up, Jeannie Pack from the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

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14:01Welcome back to The Deal. I'm Jason Kelly, here with a special emergency, Nick's edition. New York City has never seen anything like this. I think it's fair to say the perfect person to talk to, Jeannie Pack. She's the interim president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation. She's been with the organization for a while as the CFO. She worked on Wall Street before this. Jeannie, we keep throwing around all these words. This has never happened before. I've never seen anything like But we've sort of never seen anything like this, right? We have never seen anything like this. Thank you, Jason.

14:37I'm so happy to be here. And I'm so happy to be here today after this historical win on Saturday. You know, I say this for the Knicks, but for all New Yorkers, it has been the most amazing run with the most beautiful outcome. So we're really excited to be here. It has unified New York City in a way that we've never seen or have not seen a very long time with extraordinary win. And we're really happy all the way around. Yeah. All right. So let's get into it, because, you know, as much as you and I could probably spend the next hour talking about, you know, OG and Jalen and Mike Brown and all of them and everything that happened and Spike Lee and Chalamet.

15:19But let's talk about the nuts and bolts of the money. You know, just walking around New York, riding a city bike, whatever it is, you couldn't help but see people out and about. And I know those people are spending money. I know it in part because my two 20-something sons spent a great deal of money over the past couple weeks at various watering holes and, you know, pubs and rooftops across New York. Give us the numbers. Like, what is this actually total up to when you put it all together? there? So what we do at EDC, we have an economic research and policy group, and they do a lot of economic analysis.

15:54And so these numbers are very conservative. So like you said, all the stuff that's going on outside the stadium is incredible economic activity for New York City. But what we really measure is what's happening inside the stadium. So these are home games only. So for the seven home games for the three series pre the final, there were seven home games, and that generate about$202 million. What is this? These are tickets, concessions, but it's also hotels and transportation related to activity at the stadium. And then, you know, we're so happy we won in five, but every home game is about a$90 million economic impact for the finals.

16:34And so since we only had two, it was 180, which we're very, very happy with. So all in all, it was about a$380 million postseason economic impact. Now, as you said, this does not include all of the activities on away games and all the activities that happen all across all the fibers, as you saw, for restaurants and bodegas and people who are selling merchandise on every street corner of New York City. It activated the city in a way we really have never seen. People were bringing out their own TVs in neighborhoods. They were broadcasting the game on walls of buildings. And there was just like a neighborhood block party all across, again, all in all five boroughs.

17:15So that economic activity and impact is not in these numbers. But as you know, it's generated a tremendous amount of economic activity and positive growth for the city. And again, this is across all five boroughs. It's not just located in MSG. And so will you ultimately be able to put a number on it? Because it's got to go into the hundreds of millions, maybe upwards of a billion, I would think. I mean, again, you're an economist, I'm not. But looking at just the sheer number of people who wouldn't be out and about who were, I mean, there were lines out of literally every bar I would pass across Manhattan and into Brooklyn and other parts of, as you say, all five boroughs.

18:03Is that a number that we'll eventually see or is it just too hard to sort of put your finger on? We'll try to take a look at it and give some kind of estimate just to give you some. We'll also be looking at the parade, which is Thursday at 10 a.m. downtown here. We expect that it's going to generate about tens of millions of dollars. Just to give you some context, when the Giants won in 2012, that parade generated about 38 million. Again, there's a third of people came from outside the city. But but but we expect, you know, the next win is this is going to be a parade that you've never seen in New York City.

18:33And also do some additional context, the World Cup, the estimated economic impact for the World Cup for the region is about three point three billion. So we constantly are doing these these analysis. So for the just again, sports are really, really important economic engine for the city, for the Major League Basketball, for Yankees and for the for the Mets regular season. it's going to generate about$800 million of economic activity for this season. And that's not including any post - For Major League Baseball, you said. For Major League Baseball and the city, for the two teams, the Yankees makes a little more than the Mets.

19:09Yeah, for Mets. For Mets. I'm from Queens, so yes, I am sitting right there with you. The struggle's real. The struggle's real for the Mets. But you know what? Looks were having the Knicks, so we believe. That's true. That's true. That's a good point. So, yeah. So there's, you know, there's a lot of economic analysis that we do, both in projecting and then afterwards. I mean, where are the pockets of activity that make the where the city gets sort of the most economic bang for the buck as you analyze this? Is it is it food and beverage? You know what? Like, is it merchandise? I say, who are the real winners sort of economically when something like this happens in terms of types of businesses?

19:56Yeah. So there's the basic stuff that happens at the stadium that we talked about. But as you said, that's a very it's only like a, you know, 20 ,000 seat stadium. So there's eight point five million New Yorkers and about 20 million in the region that that are Knicks, you know, like are excited about the Knicks. So they were all excited about the Knicks. I mean, with apologies to the Nets, like they were all excited about the Knicks. Let's just be honest. Everyone seems to be very unitedly excited about the Knicks. So, you know, what the city is trying to do is that we, you know, we encourage these.

20:26We have watch parties that we that the Knicks have asked for and we've permitted. But we also have all these watch parties outside the city. We also are doing that for the World Cup. As you know, there's, you know, FanFest across all five boroughs. We're trying to bring economic activity through this exciting sports summer to all businesses across all of the five boroughs. So, yes, you'll see stuff with the ticket stands and hotels and transportation. But we expect a lot of economic activity for restaurants, again, like corner stores, people selling merch, just all the food and beverage everywhere in New York City.

21:02And we're really looking forward to a fantastic summer. And so what does that mean in terms of investment for the city? You know, it's like the, you know, the city government has a budget, obviously, and, you know, has to pick and choose where it spends money. So how do you choose where to make these investments in terms of a fan fest? And what's the work that gets into, again, sort of getting the most bang for your buck in terms of like, okay, we'll do it at Central Park, or we'll do it in, you know, Park Slope. or wherever you do them. How does that process happen? Who does that? Yeah, so, you know, we have a lot of public assets.

21:43EDC manages 224 assets, 64 million square feet for the city, as well as, you know, all the other city public assets. And so we activate those public sites for these fans, for these activities. So it's not like we're paying anybody to, you know, host them for us. But I would say the city has done a tremendous investment at Willett's Point. I don't know if you're aware of Willett's Point, and that's where Citi Field is. Yes, I wanted to talk about that. The USTA, Village Tennis Stadium. And we are doing an all-electric, soccer-specific stadium, the only one in New York City, with Etienne Stadium.

22:18It's a 25 ,000-seat stadium. It's going to host the NYCFC. But this is really a neighborhood strategy, bringing sports to be part of a dense neighborhood and attracting people, but also for the people in the neighborhood as well, and creating more housing and infrastructure as part of this sort of sports arena area. So we're building 2 ,500 all-affordable units of housing. 880 just opened up, so people are moving in. So all of this is happening with the soccer stadium, as well as what already is happening with Citi Field and USTA. And I would say USTA also, they put out a report, they generate about$1.2 billion for, you know, really only a couple of weeks.

23:05So it is an amazing. For the U.S. Open, you mean, in August, September. Yeah.

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23:54so tell me about the the decision to do that because i i think about you know you've been doing this for for some time and you've seen this i think and keep me honest here this evolution where sports really is considered something that can be the center of an ecosystem that that does affect housing and commerce and all of these different things, which is very different from, say, a MetLife Stadium or even a Gillette Stadium up in Boston or, you know, other places. You know, I think about from Atlanta and I think about what didn't happen in downtown Atlanta for Turner Field, but then did happen when they built Truist Park, you know, and really built housing and entertainment and all of that.

24:46What was the sort of unlock? What sort of got everybody excited about that in your business? So Willett's Point was, you know, it was known as the Valley of the Ashes. It was really all chop shops, just tons of ash and rubble. Like we needed to do a ton, lots of remediations. The entire Willett's Point redevelopment, it was about 23 acres that remediated and built, you know, infrastructure like sewers, streets, sanitation, etc. And this is going to be a whole new neighborhood with, you know, all the housing that I mentioned, but also a new school. And this will be all integrated with a tremendous amount of, you know, the transportation with the 7 and the Long Island Railroad and the whole Flushing community, as well as there's already, you know, there's there is a Flushing Corona Park there that is also a tremendous asset to the neighborhood.