Sports Authority Chairman J. Kent Friedman in October, 2009:
While it may make for good headlines or be politically beneficial to be critical of transactions structured 10 years ago that have been affected by the current credit crisis on Wall Street, the taxpayers of Houston and Harris County should know that the promises made regarding the sports venues have not been broken. Taxpayers will not be asked to “bail out” the sports authority or foot the bill in any way.
And in November, 2010:
Sports Authority board chairman J. Kent Friedman described the problem as a short-term “cash-flow crunch.”
“That’s why we have the reserve, to deal with stuff like this. It doesn’t cause me any concern at all,” he said.
Today we find out that it’s now time for the Sports Authority to begin repaying a loan Harris County extended ten years ago when the Authority had to repay Bob McNair for money he loaned the agency. And the Sports Authority is asking Commissioners Court for some leniency:
The payment relief was on Tuesday’s Commissioners Court agenda, but was withdrawn after questions from County Judge Ed Emmett.
“We will repropose it” before the next payment is due in August, Schmees said. The Sports Authority will make its full payment this month.
“They are, for all intents and purposes, facing bankruptcy in a few years if they don’t adjust their cash flow, and it wasn’t even their fault,” Emmett said. “They will come back at some point and start talking about how do they get themselves out of the financial jam.”
No quote from the unconcerned J. Kent Friedman. The Sports Authority should have been shuttered as soon as its financial problems came to light years ago.
