More info on the Rosenberger appointment

Columbus' The Other Paper picked up the Coleman appointment of John Rosenberger to spearhead the Blue Jackets/Arena District rescue project and advanced the story quite a bit.

First, they interviewed the gentleman who wrote the Chamber's report.

The news came as a relief to Stephen Buser, the Ohio State emeritus professor of finance who had been commissioned by the Columbus Chamber to research and report a number of possible solutions to help stem the Blue Jackets’ bleeding. That financial framework was released a month ago.

As part of his research, Buser said the chamber “set up a rotation of people for me to speak to.” Among them, he said, was Rosenberger.

“When I saw his name on the agenda I did think, ‘What am I talking to him for?’ Within five minutes, he was able to solve that problem for me,” said Buser. “He was able to spell out, clearly and concisely, how the Convention Facilities Authority would be a natural owner of the arena because of A, B, C and D, and how, if that happened, it could whittle down that current (arena) operating loss of $4 or $5 million (that the Blue Jackets now assume).”

“Of course, neither one of us realized that, four months later, he’d be named the point person of those negotiations.”

Rosenberger again raises the comparison of himself to Henry Kissinger, which I don't care for (sorry, this matter doesn't transcend it issues of racial/religious identity and global geopolitics).  He does, however, have experience in transferring private properties to public use.  He managed the transition of the Columbus convention center from Battelle to the Convention Facilities Authority - a group that has "operate arenas" in its charter.

Great work by The Other Paper and the writer, Eric Lyttle.  The article is on my must-read list.