NBA plans to shut down Secaucus studio
The NBA plans to shut down its Secaucus, N.J., studio, where the draft lottery is staged each year, according to the New York Times. This happened after the company froze operations and locked out its players at the start of July, shut down the Paris and Tokyo offices, and laid off 114 employees last week. The league has not identified a new home for the lottery, but it will likely be held at an ESPN or ABC studio in Manhattan.
“The layoffs are not a direct result of the lockout but rather a response to the same underlying issue — that is, the league’s expenses far outpace our revenues,” said N.B.A. spokesman Mike Bass as quoted in the Times.
The NBA has undertaken a company-wide effort to cut expenses by $50 million. As of October 2008, the N.B.A eliminated 275 positions at the team and league level and moved most of the operations to Atlanta. Commercial shoots and other programming that had been done in Secaucus will be moved to Atlanta.
New data center going up in Secaucus
Equinix is adding another data center in Secaucus that is scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 2012. Equinix operates data centers in 37 markets across 12 countries with a local presence in Secaucus, North Bergen, Newark, and New York. According to news reports, the company said it would invest $140 million in the first phase of the project, which includes two buildings totaling 470,000 square feet.
Equinix plays host to groups like CBOE Holdings Inc., which recently relocated its Chicago-based stock exchange trading operations to the Secaucus data center.
Equinix is reportedly growing in importance as an infrastructure hub for the financial community.
Summer bird count for families
To encourage more children and families to go birding and enjoy nature, the Meadowlands Commission and Bergen Audubon Society are holding their first-ever summer bird count at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst on Sunday, July 31 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The program is free and includes a walk through the square-mile park to point out all the species of birds and butterflies and to do an informal bird census as well. It is a family friendly, warm-weather alternative to the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. It will be canceled if it rains.
To RSVP, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or call 201-230-4983.