October 25, 2005
In the news
Around the stadium and arena world on a blustery Tuesday:
- James Traficant may have been banished from Congress, but his dubious deeds live on. Among them: a $45 million arena in Youngstown, Ohio that city officials say they hope to break even on - but only because three-quarters of the cost was borne by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "My original reaction was 'It's great the congressman did that, but is there any possibility we could use the money for business and economic development?'" city finance director David Bozanich told the Youngstown Vindicator. "If you had to choose between job creation and an entertainment facility, you'd choose job creation because the city needs that more."
- The St. Louis Cardinals are opening their new stadium next spring, and they're celebrating by cutting back on free tickets for A-average students. With higher demand expected at the new stadium, the Cards say they'll limit high schoolers to two tickets apiece instead of four, and eliminate middle schoolers entirely, instead directing them to a free-ticket deal for schools that affiliate with the Newspapers In Education program, which encourages teachers to use newspapers in the classroom. Sample NIE website text: "These resources help build repeat traffic to NIE websites and provide greater exposure to your programs, special offers." English teachers presumably need not apply.
- The Indianapolis Colts stadium tax controversy refuses to die: The money may be flowing in, but WISH-TV reports that collecting it is so complicated that one county may have to spend as much on new employees as it brings in in tax money. "I don't know that we'll make any profit. Hopefully it will pay for itself," said Johnson County treasurer Rita Sievertson.
- Real Salt Lake may not be able to use state parking-garage money to buy land for its stadium after all: Turns out state law prohibits the money from being used for a partly privately owned facility. Team owner Dave Checketts says he'll reveal his full financing plan by early in 2006; I can hardly wait.
- Los Angeles city officials are downplaying the possibility of luring the Saints from New Orleans. "We don't think there's a time or a place for us to ever bring up this subject," L.A. Coliseum GM Pat Lynch told the Los Angeles Times; added Coliseum Commission president Bill Chadwick: "It clearly would be bad form for the commission to reach out to New Orleans - or to anyone in distress." Yeah, who would do something like that?
Posted by Neil deMause
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