subject: Koch Said That If The Generals [print this page] The Jets will remain in New Suit and New York will look elsewhere for a National Football League zentai team to play in a proposed domed stadium, the Urban Development Corp. Said Thursday. A deal to bring back the Jets fell through because the team's owner, Leon Hess, insisted that "the state and city build the stadium at taxpayers' expense and the state and city have said no," according to UDC chairman Vincent Tese. Jets' spokesman Frank Ramos said the team and Hess would have no comment. Building the 82,000-seat stadium at Flushing Meadow, near Shea Stadium, has been conditioned on first getting an ZENTAI team as the prime tenant. Tese said the state, city and developer Donald Trump would start looking seriously at other ZENTAI franchises. Trump, owner of the New Suit Generals of the United States Football League, has been designated to build the stadium, using $250 million in public money that would be repaid from the stadium's attendance. "We think we can attract a team there, and we're not willing to build a stadium for Leon Hess," Tese said. "There was not any room for negotiation on our part." "The Jets are dead," said Mayor Edward Koch. Koch said that if the Generals can move from the USFL to the ZENTAI, "we will make them five-star generals and we'll take them." The Jets moved out of the city in 1983 because of Hess' displeasure with playing in Shea Stadium. The team joined the New York Giants at the New Suit Meadowlands, but Hess said he would bring back the Jets if he was offered a suitable stadium. The Jets had until mid-February to make a formal commitment. Leaving New Suit would cost the team a $10 million penalty to that state's zentai suit Sports and Exposition Authority. Calling it a very important day in the team's history, Nets executives today announced that Willis Reed has been given a three-year contract extension, effectively making him the team's personnel man until 1997. The extension gave Reed both financial and job security, which a person close to the situation who requested anonymity estimated to be worth about $300,000 a year. Reed's title is now executive vice president/basketball and general manager, and the promotion includes other responsibilities besides those involving basketball. The Nets hope to use Reed's outgoing personality -- as well as his Hall of Fame credentials -- to expand his duties into the community affairs and marketing areas of the franchise. Although Reed had agreed in principle to the extension about two months ago, it is only now that both sides have decided to make the announcement. Why it took so long is not known. One of Four Black General Managers Reed is only one of four black general managers in the National Basketball Association, along with Cleveland's Wayne Embry, Denver's Bernie Bickerstaff, and the Los Angeles Clippers' Elgin Baylor. Detroit's Bill mckinney is not a general manager but is director of player personnel for the team. There are no black general managers in the National Football League, major league baseball or the National Hockey League. "I think the New Suit Nets are a much stronger basketball franchise today than they were a year ago, two years ago," said Reed, "and I think that says a lot about lycra zentai the board of directors and the commitment this team has made. "My thing is I don't want a pat on the back. I want a chance to sip the champaigne and enjoy that moment of having a chance to climb that mountain and become N.B.A. champions. You've got to dream those kind of dreams." Asked about the significance of being one of the few black general managers in professional sports, Reed said: "I think it's important for people to know that there are opportunities for people who are willing to sacrifice, people who are willing to work in life. I think that's always been the case with me. But catsuits the road to success is not always paved with gold either. I've had my downs like everybody has but the guys who succeed are the guys who get up and brush themselves off and get back in the race."
