Yankees Curve Ball Strikes Out Centerplate
Centerplate Inc. (CVP-AMEX) competes in one of the most competitive business around, providing concessions, catering and merchandise for sports facilities and convention centers. If you have noshed on the SellSide’s dime, you have probably funneled some money their way, given they have worked 24 World Series Games and 10 Super Bowls.
But their crown jewel was their contract for Yankee Stadium, which will not be renewed with the Yankees moving into the new digs in 2009:
Centerplate, Inc. was informed today by the New York Yankees that it will not be the concessionaire for the new Yankee Stadium set to open in 2009. This does not affect Centerplate’s current contract covering the existing Yankee Stadium, which runs through December 31, 2008. Thus, this decision by the Yankees is not expected to affect the Company’s 2008 financial results. However, if Centerplate does not obtain new business to offset the impact of not having a contract to service the new Yankee Stadium in 2009, this loss will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s Adjusted EBITDA beginning in 2009. PRN Newswire
Centerplate is structured as an income vehicle; its IPO in 2003 was the first offering of Income Deposit Securities (IDSs), the first such offering of any such securities.
Centerplate’s decline will whack its shareholder base of income seeking investors, and is the latest example of a debacle in the brave new world of alphabet soup. Who ever heard of IDSs? The company’s woes are being exacerbate by the credit crisis:
After the market closed Tuesday, the company said it will pay 13 cents per income deposit security on April 21 to holders of record on April 10. Each income deposit security issued by the company is comprised by one share of stock and a subordinated note.
Centerplate will be able to pay the dividends since it obtained an amendment to its credit facility that will allow it to make payments in April and May. The amendment also allows the company to invest in a potential new service contract and increases its ability to make capital expenditures in 2008, Centerplate said.
But without another amendment, Centerplate won’t be able to keep paying monthly dividends beginning in June, and may need to defer interest on its subordinated notes. Centerplate blamed the tightening credit markets, saying it has been difficult to get amendments “on favorable terms if at all.”
The company also said it may be “more prudent” to change its dividend policy and preserve capital to reinvest in the business. AP
My sources n the Bronx are indicating the Yankees will be taking their concessions in-house, and god only knows how much a beer will cost by the time the cost overruns for the new stadium are factored in.
The old Yankee Stadium was the House that Ruth built, but the new one is likely the House that Only Hedge Fund Moguls can afford to visit.
New Stadium Under Construction with Sinatra Soundtrack
Centerplate Announces No Role in New Yankee Stadium
PRN Newswire
Centerplate Drops on Threat to Dividend
AP
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The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of underthecounter. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
MLB’s Bowman Courts Billions Over Internet
Golden boy Bob Bowman of Major League Baseball’s digital effort is hooking up with Brad Greenspan, the investor best known for his stake in MySpace and an aborted run at buying the Wall Street Journal, to court Chinese baseball fans:
Major League Baseball is using the internet in an effort to pitch the American game to China.
Under a partnership announced on the MLB’s opening day, the US professional baseball league will begin streaming games and offering other content on a Chinese-language website it is creating with BroadWeb-Asia, an internet company backed by Brad Greenspan, an early investor in MySpace.....MLB ranks as the largest streamer of live media of any US media group, and draws 8m-10m visitors to its site each day.
“Digital media can certainly get the game into more people’s hands there – at least in the short term – than traditional television can,” said Bob Bowman, chief executive of MLB Advanced Media, the league’s digital division.
While Japan, Korea and Taiwan send star players to the US, the game is barely played in China.
Bowman has been successful with everything he has touched, with the exception of a brief stint at an internet retailer, but might have to offer someday he simply cannot, in order to get the Chinese on board.
Gambling.
Internet to pitch baseball to Chinese
FT
Tiger Dominates the Blue Monster
I neglected to get Kevin picks posted last week. Me bad.
Golf is heating up, and Augusta is slowly coming into focus. Awesome.
Kevin is going out on a limb and picking Tiger at Doral. If you gotta problem with that go visit him at PGA 365
Unless you were hiding under a rock last week, you know about Tiger’s incredible putt on the 72nd hole to capture his 64th PGA title and 5th Arnold Palmer Invitational. This week’s tournament is a WCG event, the CA Championship, to be held at the Doral Golf Resort on the famous Blue Monster Course. Can you guess what course is also featured in the Tiger Woods line of video games? If you guessed Doral you’d be correct, and knowing what happened last week and the current state of Woods’ game, it should be pretty clear that everyone’s top choice this week should be…Tiger Woods.
Woods has taken the trophy home the last 3 years consecutively, and 5 times in total, even though the CA Championship itself has not been played at Doral for all five of those wins. As a matter of fact, last year was the first year the CA was played at Doral, but Woods won the Doral Open in 2005 and 2006. Basically, he wins at Doral. Or anywhere for that matter. I was debating on whether to choose between Retief Goosen or Ernie Els as another top-tier pick, but instead I’m going to go with Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy has had a slow start this year but he always shows up at big-time events, WGC events included. Ogilvy finished 3rd here last year.
I’m hoping that Stewart Cink will have a good showing here this week. He has played very well but hasn’t been able to seal the deal, particularly in the 4th round. Cink might be a good 2nd or 3rd round insertion for points. I’m also going with Nick O’Hern here as well. Any time the letters “WCG” are involved and I see O’Hern’s name I can’t help but think of how he has, more than any other player I believe, prevailed over Tiger Woods. That’s not to say it’s a guaranteed thing, but Nick O’Hern is a great player and I expect to see at least a couple of low rounds from him at this event. A couple of other players to keep an eye on are Stewart Appleby and Stephen Ames.
Rounding off my selections are two more players, one of which shouldn’t be a surprise choice and the other who probably is more of a surprise. It’s hard to ignore Luke Donald after his performance at the Honda Classic and the past month in general, and out of the Tier 3 players I think he is clearly the best. I’m also going to go with Niclas Fasth. He had a top-10 last week, and although I consider him to be streaky I think he will shine in this limited-field event.
Copperhead Layout to Challenge PGA Pro’s
Bart Bryant got off to a strong start in this week’s POD Championship but has a pack of journeyman on his tail at this weeks PGA event. The course is different than most on the tour, and is worth tuning in to check out.
As always, visit Kevin at PGA 365
This week’s PODS Championship will be played at the Innisbrook Golf Club at the Copperhead Course, and will provide players with a fairly challenging layout through which they must carefully navigate. Innisbrook is a thinker’s course, much in the way that Colonial and Harbor Town are. Narrow, tree-lined fairways and small, fast greens means the bomb-and-gouge strategy that some players employ will be rendered useless here. Shot placement is critical to allow yourself decent approach shots to the small greens of the Copperhead Course - one look at hole # 3 should make this obvious. Another interesting feature about this course is that there are huge elevation changes. The par 5 5th hole will play at 605 yards and has a sharp uphill tee shot followed by a dramatic drop down to the green from about 200 yards out.
I was happy to see Els win last week at the Honda Classic. Had it not been for Luke Donald’s quadruple-bogey in the 2nd round, Donald should have gone on to win…but to win on tour sometimes you need a bit of luck as well, and Els has had his share of bad luck lately so I feel this win was well-deserved. He’s been playing relatively well this year and I think his win last week is going to get him in the right frame of mind for another solid performance. Mark Calcavecchia is the defending champion, and he played well last week too. Calcavecchia plays almost nothing else but a fade, so he will totally be eliminating the left side of the course this week…a strategy that seemed to work well for him last year. Calc isn’t known for his putting, but hopefully he’ll bring some of last week’s putting magic to Innisbrook.
My strategy for picking players in Tiers 2 and 3 for this week will be to focus on those who haven’t missed many cuts. Although Paul Casey has only teed it up once on the PGA this year, I’m picking him to have 4 solid rounds. Casey is a good player but he’ll need to work hard if he intends on qualifying for the 2008 European Ryder Cup. Also look for John Mallinger and Jeff Quinney to do well this week. Between the two they have entered in 12 tournaments and missed only 1 cut. Look for Charlie Wi for a surprise impact.
Steve Marino is making cuts. In 7 tournaments he hasn’t missed the cut yet. While that increases his chances of missing the cut each week, I think he’s a solid choice to have in your line-up. Kenny Perry is accurate off the tee and he has only missed 2 cuts this year. He may not win the tournament but I think Perry is another solid player to have on a course that requires accuracy such as this.
Isenhour Nails a Birdie
People do a lot of stupid things on golf courses, but this takes the cake:
PGA Tour player Tripp Isenhour was charged with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show.
Isenhour was with a film crew for “Shoot Like A Pro” on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course. The 39-year-old player, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.
According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up. Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.
Isenhour allegedly said “I’ll get him now,” and aimed for the hawk.
“About the sixth ball came very near the bird’s head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close,” Baine wrote.
A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.
“He just kept saying how he didn’t think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say,” said Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot. “He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that’s, I don’t know, a couple hundred feet away?”
Senger said the killing was not captured on video. The bird was buried at the golf course and later dug up by Florida investigators.
Gopher killer Bill Murray was unavailable for comment.
PGA Tour player Tripp Isenhour faces criminal charges for killing hawk in tree with shot
AP
M Go Blow
Wolverine women’s hoop coach Kevin Borseth suffered an epic meltdown after blowing an 18 point lead.
Hope he handles losing stocks better.
Ernie Els Returns to PGA Tour
Kevin is back after getting his bell wrung in an auto accident. Hang in there, pal.
Check out his site at PGA 365, where they are reviewing the latest driver from TaylorMade. Love those sticks, even at $799 suggested retail.
Ok, enough with the West Coast non-sense. I’m very happy to see golf return to the East Coast for a change. The east’s first tournament this year is the Honda Classic played at the PGA National Resort and Spa (Champion Course). Here are some picks that I feel stand a good chance of performing well.
In Tier 1, Boo Weekley and Zach Johnson are my choices this week. Ernie Els is making his 2008 PGA debut this year but I don’t think he’ll have enough to go the distance. Els has been criticized lately for some disappointing finishes this year, but in reality he has played relatively well. A poor shot on the final hole of the Dubai Desert Classic cost him the tournament, but he has played well in each tournament with the exception of an stray round here and there. Weekely comes to mind because he was born in Florida and played well in last year’s tournament. He’s off to a good start this year as well. Zack Johnson hasn’t missed a cut yet and I can guarantee you he’s following the same pre-Masters routine this year as he did last year when he won.
Tier 2 offers some great choices. Camilo Villegas should definitely play well - while he wasn’t born in Florida like Boo Weekley he went to school at the University of Florida and always seems to shine in Florida tournaments. I also like Angel Cabrera because he can flat-out play. His powerful, old-school swing is great to watch and he has great control over the ball. Go with Robert Allenby and Justin Leonard (again!) since both are playing well this year, particularly Leonard. One has to wonder, though…will Leonard be burned out by the end of the year? This will be his 6th tournament in 8 weeks.
Luke Donald and Steve Marino are my picks for Tier 3 players. Although Luke’s 2006 win was at a different venue, I’m looking for this tournament to be his launching pad for ‘08. Steve Marino is having an outstanding season thus far, having played in 6 tournaments and making the cut every time.
