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Rowland Gets Steamed, Clears Stadium Site: Connecticut Governor John Rowland has pulled off another goal-line stand, this time against CTG Resources Inc. The company, whose steam plant and headquarters are occupy the site of the planned stadium for the New England Patriots, agreed on April 1 to relocate to an existing office building -- the move will be financed by $25 million from the Hartford business community, while the state Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority will provide power to CTG to replace that generated by the steam plant. CTG, which had been holding out for $48 million to build a replacement plant, agreed to the new plan one day before an April 2 deadline for the state to provide assurances to the Patriots that the stadium deal is moving ahead.

Rowland's previous last-minute deal -- convincing the state legislature to finance the $375 million stadium with state money last December -- is now being challenged by stadium opponents in state court. Calling the stadium deal "the most grandiose giveaway in state history," Stop The Stadium, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and a group of other plaintiffs have charged Rowland and Patriots owner Robert Kraft with illegally exempting the project from environmental, prevailing-wage, building-inspection, and public-hearing laws, as well as passing the stadium bill via an "emergency" session of the legislature when no actual emergency existed. (A federal lawsuit charging unconstitutional interference with interstate commerce is also expected to be filed.) A recent poll found that Connecticut residents now oppose the plan by a slim margin, 48%-45%, with support dropping 13 percentage points in the last three months. . . .

The San Diego city council, facing its own April 1 deadline to provide approval of the planned $411 million Padres stadium, unanimously declared that the team had provided "sufficient assurances" to move ahead with the project. Earlier in the week, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association predicted that the city could lose $11 million annually on the deal, especially if the projected private hotel development does not come to pass. . . . Meanwhile, San Diego's Historical Site Board has now designated a total of ten buildings in the Ballpark District as historic; most of the structures are expected to be demolished. Community activists have formed the ParkBayDiagonal Collaborative to press the city to find an alternate site. . . .

Bankruptcy is no excuse for breaking a deal, a federal judge has told the Pittsburgh Penguins. Judge Bernard Markovitz ruled March 25 that must stay in Pittsburgh until 2007 as promised, adding that "the interest of the community at large" outweighed creditors' claims that the team would be worth more if it were moved. The team's owner, Roger Marino, promised in 1997 to remain in town for ten years in exchange for $12.9 million in public improvements to the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, but last year declared bankruptcy and began discussing selling the team to out-of-town interests. One possible local buyer: former star player Mario Lemieux, who is owned $31 million in deferred salary by the Penguins, and hope to leverage that debt into a controlling interest in the team. . . .

After months of insisting that there would be no public subsidies for the Montreal Expos, Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard has apparently agreed to contribute between $7 and $8 million a year in provincial tourism funds to the team. The money would be used to finance $100 million in construction bonds on a stadium planned for downtown Montreal. The government of neighboring Ontario, meanwhile, is reportedly considering exempting the Ottawa Senators from the province's 10-percent amusement tax, a move that would cost Ontario taxpayers some $3 million a year. . . . The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in a surprise ruling on April 2, pulled the Washington Redskins' trademarks to the team name and logo on the grounds that they are disparaging to Native Americans. If upheld on appeal, the move could cost the NFL millions of dollars in merchandising revenue, which could lead to league pressure on the team to change its name. . . .

New Mets and Yankees stadiums may be on hold, but that hasn't stopped New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani from striking a deal to build ballparks for their minor-league affiliates. The New York-Penn League Staten Island Yankees begin play this summer, with a Mets team in Coney Island expected to follow in a year or two. According to the letters of agreement with the clubs, the city will spend a total of $40 million to construct a pair of 6,500-seat stadiums for the new teams; all ticket and parking revenue, and half the naming rights fees, will go to the teams, which will be exempt from paying rent if they draw less than 125,000 fans per season. Last year's NY-Penn average: 91,385. --April 6, 1999

Patriots, 49ers Deals Collapsing?: With an April 2 deadline for a preliminary stadium plan fast approaching, the New England Patriots' deal for a $375 million football stadium is looking less and less certain. The Hartford Courant reported on March 17 that CTG Resources Inc., which owns a steam plant on the proposed stadium site, are insisting on $48.8 million to relocate the plant; local businesses (most notable Phoenix Home Life) have offered to put up just $25 million for the move. CTG also wants the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, a quasi-public state agency, to pay all cleanup costs associated with the site, which are expected to be substantial.

Although the Patriot management insists the team remains 100% committed to moving to Hartford, there are increasing signs that team owner Robert Kraft may be merely using Connecticut as a bargaining chip to extract greater concessions from Massachusetts for a stadium deal there. At the recent NFL owners' meetings, the league approved Resolution G-2, a plan to extend loans to teams in the league's top six media markets (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Boston) to help with stadium financing, in hopes of discouraging teams from abandoning major markets for smaller cities with more generous stadium packages. Chair of the NFL Finance Committee that drafted the loan plan: Robert Kraft.

At a public meeting on March 10 to discuss the Hartford stadium plan, according to Stop The Stadium activist Donna Donovan, "The tenor of the public was hostile at worst, skeptical at best. I had the sense that they held this meeting to satisfy a contractual requirement, were not concerned that anyone showed up" -- organizers optimistically estimated 200 attendees -- "and now they can say they did it." Inside the meeting, Stop The Stadium members handed out pamphlets declaring Gov. John Rowland "the Patriots' most valuable player"; outside, a Stop The Stadium member stood dressed in a full-body skunk costume with a "This Stadium Deal Stinks" sign. . . .

Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers' stadium plans -- already beset by an ownership scandal, charges of electoral fraud, and projected cost overruns that could doom the project before ground is even broken -- received what may have been a death blow on March 17 with word that the 49ers are considering scrapping the mall that was planned to accompany it. Team vice president John York said the team still plans to go ahead with stadium construction, but the demise of the mall could force the city to again submit the $100 million in public bonds for voter approval -- this after the first vote, in June 1997, narrowly squeaked to victory largely on promises of economic development as a result of the mall. "No mall, no bonds," explained San Francisco Treasurer Susan Leal succinctly on Tuesday. The NFL has already reportedly decided to relocate the 2003 Super Bowl that had been scheduled for San Francisco. . . .

With the Philadelphia Eagles set to take advantage of the new NFL loan policy to help fund a new stadium, Pennsylvania state representative Andrew Carn notes that this means stadium revenues would go to pay back the league's costs, but not the state's. The state legislature last month approved what its backers called a "hybrid" of a loan and a grant to the state's four sports teams -- the $320 million will be "repaid" out of state taxes collected at and around new stadiums -- leading Pittsburgh Rep. Thomas Petrone to quip, "It's not a grant. It's not a loan. It's a groan." . . . The London Daily Telegraph is reporting that the government Monopolies and Mergers Commission has rejected Rupert Murdoch's bid for control of soccer giants Manchester United as being not in the public interest. The fate of the planned $1 billion takeover by Murdoch's BSkyB pay-TV network is now in the hands of Trade Secretary Stephen Byers, who is expected to make a ruling in the next three or four weeks. . . .

Residents of the neighborhood near Mount Vernon Square, where D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams wants to build a $330 million baseball stadium, were "nearly unanimous in their opposition" to the plan at a public meeting March 11, according to the Washington Post. Noting that new housing had been previously been proposed for the same site, retired city planner Steve Block told the meeting, "Cities that have downtown housing are the ones that are turning around. This site is really bad. It is a disaster." . . . The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, stung by reports that both the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils are looking to relocate to new arenas (in Newark and Hoboken respectively), has offered $72 million in parking and infrastructure improvements if someone comes forward to privately build a new arena to replace the Continental Airlines Arena as part of a complex of sports, entertainment, and retail outlets. In a bit of bad timing, the authority's proposal called such sports/entertainment hybrids "the cutting edge of new sports facility development across the nation," citing specifically the 49ers' planned stadium/mall project -- the mall component of which was scrapped the very next day. --March 18, 1999

Expos D.C.-Bound?: If press reports are to be believed, the Montreal Expos have taken another step closer to relocating to either Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia. In the last week, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has pitched building a $330 million baseball-only stadium, primarily with city money, while Canadian officials have refused to consider subsidies for a new stadium in Montreal. (The Expos' current park, Olympic Stadium, has cost more than $1 billion in public money for construction and repeated repairs to its accident-plagued roof.) "We're not in the business of helping sports teams," Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien told reporters March 1, a sentiment that has been echoed by municipal and provincial elected officials.

Meanwhile, baseball officials turned up the heat on Montreal by refusing to extend a March 6 deadline for restructuring the team's ownership, a process that was expected to include raising private funds for a new ballpark in Montreal. In denying the extension, baseball chief legal officer Robert DuPuy wrote that the Expos needed to move quickly "to plan with respect to the 2000 season," since "there has been no commitment for government support to keep the Expos in Montreal."

While various teams have been rumored to be interested in moving to the D.C. area in recent years, efforts to build a ballpark there have faltered -- at least until the latest proposal by Mayor Williams. There are conflicting reports whether Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos would have the right to block a move to D.C.; calls to Major League Baseball to clarify the issue were not returned. . . .

Connecticut activists are moving forward with their attempts to overturn the state's planned $375 million football stadium to bring the New England Patriots to Hartford, as the group Stop the Stadium holds public meetings in cities across the state as part of their campaign to gain 100,000 signatures on a petition calling for repeal of the stadium-funding law. Most recently, the activists have attacked Gov. John Rowland's plan to funnel $5.5 million from a fund for elderly and disabled homeowners into the stadium project. Meanwhile, the first step toward construction of the stadium -- purchase and relocation of a steam plant by the quasi-public Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority -- is on hold while the plant's owners consider whether to accept the agency's $30 million bid. The CRRA has refused to divulge where it would get the money for the purchase, leading many to speculate that it would simply be tacked onto the state's ever-growing tab. "This is a giant corporate welfare boondoggle,'' Stop The Stadium organizer Charlene LaVoie told a meeting of residents in Torrington. "We have to roar back." . . .

Scottsdale residents opposed to construction of a hockey arena for the Phoenix Coyotes in their town have formed NO PUCKS (Neighbors Organized to Prevent Unwanted Community Killing in Scottsdale) to fight the inclusion of the arena in the planned redevelopment of the Los Arcos Mall. The South Scottsdale Revitalization Coalition estimates that sales tax rebates, tax-exempt bond subsidies, and property tax exemptions will fund at least half of the project's $600 million to $700 million estimated cost, surpassing even the $240 million in public subsidies given to Phoenix's controversial Bank One Ballpark. With a public referendum scheduled for May 18, the Coyotes and mall developer The Ellman Companies have funded a campaign called Don't Let Los Arcos Die to push for a yes vote. . . . Yet another public cost of the San Francisco Giants' "privately financed" Pacific Bell Park: the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department is bracing to lose $1 million a year in rent on city-owned 3Com Park when the team moves into its new stadium next year. Pacific Bell Park has already received millions of dollars in land-clearing costs and tax increment financing from the city. . . .

Rumors of Cablevision's planned purchase of the New York Yankees came to a crashing halt February 25 with the announcement that the Yankees had signed a letter of intent to merge with the New Jersey Nets basketball team, creating an umbrella corporation called YankeeNets that would be expected to attempt to forge its own regional cable network. (Some local observers are skeptical, however, wondering aloud whether this could be merely a bargaining ploy by the Yankees to bring Cablevision back to the table.) Cablevision part-owner Larry Dolan, meanwhile, is part of a group that has reportedly offered $65 million to buy the Cincinnati Reds from owner Marge Schott. . . . The Nets are involved in their own controversial arena project in Newark, N.J., which would wipe out the homes of more than 300 people; community activists with the City Hall Area Redevelopment Group are organizing to stop the proposed arena. . . . Finally, as if reaping a reported $200 million from the Nets as part of the merger agreement were not enough, the Yankees are reportedly considering selling the naming rights to Yankee Stadium to a corporation. "The Yankees have the best name in sports, and the naming rights are certainly a huge value," Yankee spokesman Howard Rubinstein told the Daily News. "It's speculation now, but everything's being considered." No word on how the Yankees would go about selling naming rights to a building that is, in fact, the property of the city. --March 6, 1999

Pennsylvania Approves $320 Million "Loan" For Four Stadiums: In a surprise move, the Pennsylvania state legislature approved on February 2 $320 million in state subsidies for four proposed stadiums for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles. An earlier plan had failed to pass muster in the legislature last December, House Majority Leader John Perzel's "compromise" plan was approved 136-62 by the state house, and 34-15 by the state senate.

Though advertised as an "interest-free loan" from the state to the teams, the money would in fact come from tax increment financing (TIFs), a scheme that has previously been used to finance part of the San Francisco Giants' new Pacific Bell Park -- and which was rejected by a San Antonio school board as too costly, since it involves the government kicking back tax revenues to pay for a project's construction. The Pirates and Steelers are already prepared to move forward with construction of their new stadiums, with additional funding from the city of Pittsburgh; the Phillies and Eagles have yet to finalize stadium plans. . . .

TIFs are the flavor of the month in sports facility construction: The Phoenix Coyotes' proposed $624 million arena/mall project in Scottsdale, Arizona, would use property-tax and sales-tax revenue in the arena district to pay off its construction bonds. (Economists have long cautioned that entertainment and retail venues, such as stadiums or malls, only cannibalize existing consumer spending, and therefore should not be credited with increasing tax revenues.) A public vote is scheduled for May 18, but the neighboring town of Carefree's recent vote to pull out of the planned arena district could ultimately doom the project; Coyotes officials are reportedly canvassing other nearby towns in an attempt to come up with a new partner for the district, which requires a minimum of two municipalities. . . . May 18 will also be the date for a public referendum in Mesa and Queen Creek, Arizona, on using sales taxes to pay for the $1.8 billion Rio Salado Crossing project, the centerpiece of which would be a new football stadium for the Arizona Cardinals. (The city of Tempe backed out of the plan last summer, saying it would require too much public money.) . . .

The NFL likes to claim that cities that bring the Super Bowl to town can see a windfall of as much as $300 million or more of economic activity in a brief two-week span of time. But a study of six Super Bowls in Miami, Tampa, and Phoenix has found that the football championship's impact on local sales revenues is a big, flat zero. "There ought to be a spike that sticks up like a sore thumb," said Philip Porter, the University of South Florida economics professor who conducted the study. "It doesn't exist. There is no blip. You don't find anything." The problem, he says, is that at least in warm-weather cities, Super Bowl visitors merely displace tourists who would otherwise be visiting during the last week in January. . . .

About 150 people jammed a meeting hall near Fenway Park January 22 to express concerns over the Boston Red Sox' rumored plans for a new stadium. "If you want out of Fenway Park, start thinking about getting out of Fenway altogether," said Peter Catalano of the Fenway Action Coalition. The Red Sox deny earlier reports that they will present a stadium plan in February, and now say they are possibly months away from finalizing a proposal. . . . The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced preliminary plans for a renovation of Dodger Stadium. The addition of new field-level seats and 30 luxury suites is expected to be complete in time for the 2000 season. . . . New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, rebuffed in his attempts to build a Manhattan ballpark for the Yankees, has instead called for a domed football stadium and "new Madison Square Garden" to be built on the same West Side site. The mayor also suggested building a pro soccer stadium somewhere in the city, bringing the total number of city-funded sports venues he's proposed to seven. . . . The collapse of Olympic Stadium's brand-new $37 million Teflon roof during an auto show in January will not delay the Montreal Expos' home opener, club officials promise. Quebec cabinet minister Louise Harel observed that the stadium, which had its original malfunctioning roof replaced only last year, appears to be under a "divine curse." --February 11, 1999

Hartford Stadium Approved; Spurs, 49ers Plans On Hold: The Connecticut legislature overwhelmingly approved $374 million in public funding for a new stadium for the New England Patriots on December 15. But opponents of the project vow to block construction before it begins.

The yes votes (97-49 in the state house, 27-8 in the senate) came after Gov. John Rowland negotiated minor improvements in the deal with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, including a reduction in the state's luxury seating guarantee from $17.5 million to $13 million a year, and a promise from Kraft to pay any cost overruns over $374 million. (Overruns will likely be difficult to calculate, however, given that the stadium will be only one piece of a larger Adriaen's Landing development project.) Legislators were also rumored to have been treated to some last-minute horse-trading by the governor, who offered to back representatives' pet projects in exchange for a "yes" vote on the stadium. (The governor's office denied this.)

On December 28, the local Green Party, Libertarian Party, Reform Party, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader were among those announcing the launch of Stop The Stadium, a public campaign to halt construction of the project. "The deal is by no means done," said Nader, who called the governor a "41-year-old twerp" and said, "This is what I expect of the legislature of Baton Rouge, not my home state." . . .

The scene was very different in San Antonio, where the North East School District board voted 5-2 on December 14 to reject plans for a new $157 million arena for the Spurs. The board's approval was necessary because the arena would have been built with tax increment financing (TIF) money, which would have been diverted from the school district. . . . The San Francisco 49ers' stadium/mall project, which survived an ownership scandal and a court challenge, now appears to have fallen prey to simple economics. With cost estimates of the stadium alone running over $500 million, the team is reportedly considering taking the $100 million in city money approved narrowly by voters in June 1997 and putting it into converting 3Com (aka Candlestick) Park into a football-only stadium. . . .

The record franchise sale price $530 million (for the Cleveland Browns last September) didn't last long: On January 10, a group led by New York Islanders co-owner Howard Milstein announced an agreement to buy the Washington Redskins and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium for a whopping $800 million. NFL rules that prohibit ownership of other sports teams in NFL cities will force Milstein to sell off his share of the Islanders, but he may already have plans for the money: He is reportedly negotiating to buy the Toronto Blue Jays and SkyDome, both of which are on the block. . . .

The Boston Red Sox are reportedly considering a plan to build a mammoth $1 billion sports and entertainment complex, including a new 48,000-seat ballpark, on several blocks surrounding Fenway Park. The Boston Herald reports that such a project, which would wipe out much of the existing neighborhood, would require at least $200 million to $250 million in public money. The Sox are expected to announce their ballpark plan in early February; the neighborhood Fenway Action Coalition will be holding a town meeting on January 21 at the 7th Day Adventist Temple (corner of Jersey and Peterborough) to address the team's plans. . . . Meanwhile, longtime food vendors outside Fenway Park got a scare last month when the Red Sox announced they would no longer approve permits for the streets adjacent to the ballpark. (Under city law, property owners must approve all sidewalk vendors.) However, Mayor Tom Menino brokered a deal under which Yawkey Way will be closed to traffic on game days, creating a pedestrian mall where vendors may hawk their wares. The popular sausage carts and peanut salesmen outside Fenway have long been an annoyance to the Red Sox, who want fans to be forced to buy food at ballpark prices inside the gates; the desire for more elaborate concessions facilities is rumored to be one of the main reasons the team wants out of Fenway. . . .

The new Detroit Tigers stadium scheduled to open in 2000 will be known as Comerica Park after owner Mike Ilitch sold naming rights to the ballpark to a local bank. Comerica, which had earlier refused to finance Ilitch's private contribution to stadium construction, will now provide $66 million (over 30 years) toward the $145 million private cost -- which will not even kick in until all $135 million in public money is exhausted. . . . The Montreal Expos, who have made little progress in securing either a new ballpark or a city to relocate to, have reportedly signed a lease extension at Olympic Stadium through the year 2000. . . . Finally, New York City is shelling out close to $1 billion to ensure that a local institution doesn't move to New Jersey -- and it's not the Yankees. Rather, the December 22 deal announced by Mayor Rudy Giuliani gives close to $900 million in subsidies and tax breaks to the New York Stock Exchange, which will move into a new headquarters across the street from its current site. Meanwhile, the mayor has proposed building a new football stadium to lure the New York Jets and a replacement for Madison Square Garden for the midtown site he originally proposed for a new Yankees ballpark. --January 15, 1999

Connecticut Stadium Loss Could Top $250 Million: The proposed Hartford stadium for the New England Patriots, which proponents had said would pay for itself over 30 years, would in fact likely cost the state $257 million in that time, according to the state legislature's Office of Fiscal Analysis. The new study, released on Wednesday, contradicted an earlier report by consultants KPMG Peat Marwick that had predicted the stadium would turn a small profit over the course of the deal; the Peat Marwick study, it turns out, failed to study whether fan interest was great enough to support high ticket prices, and completely ignored costs to the state from a controversial $175 million luxury seating sales guarantee.

A week earlier, the New Haven Advocate reported that the $375 million cost estimate for the new football stadium could go much higher when several hidden costs are factored in. The newspaper reported that while stadium construction costs are capped at $280 million (plus $25 million in inflation), environmental cleanup costs could go much higher than the state's $70 million estimate. Moreover, relocation of a steam generation plant now on the site could cost another $100 million; Connecticut Gov. John Rowland has agreed to provide a $115 million "capital improvement "fund" for stadium upgrades over the next 30 years; and the state could be on the hook for at least another $100 million in roadway and other infrastructure costs. Total public expense: upwards of $700 million. Total construction costs to be paid by Patriots owner Robert Kraft: $0.

At Wednesday's public stadium hearings at the state capitol, Kraft was peppered with questions about the financing package, and gave few concrete answers, leading state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann to say "overall they lost yardage today." State Sen. Biagio Ciotto, however, said he was swayed when Kraft kissed his son in public, saying, "That was not an act. He seems very sincere." Members of the general public lined up all day for a chance at three-minute speaking slots during the evening session -- where most expressed opposition to the deal -- but even then they were outflanked by team lobbyists, who paid people $8 an hour to hold places on line for stadium supporters.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger has announced that he is looking into filing suit over the Patriots' plans to move, referring specifically to the NFL's stated promise that Boston will not be allowed a new team so long as the Patriots remain in New England. Gov. Rowland called the legal threat a "pipe dream," adding that Harshbarger could come watch the team in Connecticut "if he can get a ticket." . . .

Sportsco Corp., a group that includes former Toronto Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick, made a surprise $100 million (Canadian) bid for the Toronto SkyDome this week. SkyDome, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month and recently negotiated a new lease that grants the Blue Jays the bulk of stadium revenue, had been estimated to be worth no more than $62 million; Gillick's group is expected to use the dome purchase as leverage to buy the team, which owner Interbrew SA had earlier refused to sell to them. . . . The San Antonio Spurs' plans for a new basketball arena have hit an unexpected snag: the local school board, which must sign off on the $137 million tax increment financing that would pay for the new building. To help grease the wheels, the team offered an "incentive package" of between $28 million and $43 million in telecommunications and other equipment for the schools if the board approves the plan at its Dec. 14 meeting. Board president Bruce Bennett said he would listen to the team's proposal, but was not inclined to back the TIF plan: "We need to get back and do what we do best, and that is educating children. [The Spurs] need to get back to do what they do best and that is playing basketball." . . .

With Financial World magazine having ceased publication, former FW editor Michael Ozanian has taken his yearly sports team value estimates to Forbes. Among his findings: the Dallas Cowboys are both the most valuable ($413 million) and most profitable ($41.3 million a year) team in pro sports; sports leagues as a whole turned a $479 million profit in 1997; and the NBA, in claiming that most of its teams lost money last year, failed to count revenue from stadium naming rights and advertising, luxury suites, and team merchandise stores. . . .

New York Assemblymember Scott Stringer proposed Sunday that New York City look into buying the New York Yankees, saying the estimated $600 million purchase cost would be "certainly better than spending $1 billion on a stadium. Mayor Rudy Giuliani's response, through spokesperson Colleen Roche: "Scott Stringer's proposal is a concept that could conceivably work in two places: Communist China and Cuba." Public officials in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, which own their minor-league baseball teams, were not immediately available for comment. --December 10, 1998

Pats to Hartford, Yanks to Cablevision?: Those footloose NFL franchises are at it again. On November 19, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced he had struck a deal with Connecticut Gov. John Rowland to move his team to Hartford, where it would play in a new $350 million stadium to be built by the state.

Thanks to Al Davis' successful anti-trust suit against the NFL in the 1980s and the league's mammoth national TV contract that is shared among all teams no matter where they play, football teams have been relocating at a record pace in recent years. If the Patriots deal goes through, it will be the 6th time an NFL team has pulled up stakes in the 17 years since Davis' Oakland Raiders left town for Los Angeles. (Major League Baseball, by contrast, hasn't seen a franchise shift since 1972.)

The agreement between Kraft and Rowland calls for the new stadium to be paid for a 10% tax on tickets, concessions, and parking, income taxes paid by Patriots players and employees, and "indirect sales taxes" from spending in the vicinity of the stadium on game days. The Patriots would keep all naming rights revenue, concessions revenue (including from non-football events), and all luxury seating revenue after taxes. The state would also guarantee the team $17.5 million in luxury suite and club seat sales per year, with the state paying Kraft any shortfall out of the state treasury.

"It's not going to be an agreement where the state loses money," said Rowland spokesman Dean Pagani. For the state to break even on the deal, however, the new stadium would have to see 30 years of sold-out crowds at premium ticket prices -- as well as $42.5 million a year in sales of 125 luxury suites and 6,000 club seats, 10 percent of which would be returned to the state via the ticket tax. Combined with the ticket sales guarantee, this could put the state in the position of having to push ticket and suite sales in order to recoup their expenses -- a plan that failed dismally in Oakland, where the city spent $90 million to lure the Raiders back to town in 1996, then was unable to sell enough high-priced personal seat licenses to pay off its debts. (The Raiders have since threatened to break their lease and move back to Los Angeles.)

Immediate press reaction to the news of the Patriots deal was enthusiastic, with the Hartford Courant printing a special edition of the paper to celebrate the occasion. However, as the details of the project began to sink in -- and state legislators upped the estimated cost to $375 million -- critics began wondering about the costs of a deal that would be among the most lucrative fever for an NFL team. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader called the deal "corporate socialism" and "a litmus-paper test of how damaged democracy really is in Connecticut." . . .

Media/sports giant Cablevision's on-again, off-again attempts to buy the New York Yankees were off again over the Thanksgiving holiday, after a week in which current owner George Steinbrenner was rumored to be on the brink of selling 70% of the team for upwards of $350 million. That would have put the total value of the Yankees franchise in the neighborhood of the record $530 million purchase price of the expansion Cleveland Browns, set just three months ago. By month's end, however, negotiations had apparently resumed. . . .

The new stadiums for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, rejected by voters last fall but approved by local officials in a "Plan B" this spring, may be off the drawing boards after all. The Pennsylvania House ended its session Nov. 24 without voting to approve $300 million in state funding for the two stadiums and two more proposed for the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles. When it was later discovered that a secret rider had been passed, without many legislators' knowledge, that would allow Gov. Tom Ridge to allocate the funding without legislative approval, Ridge vetoed the bill, saying he only wanted to win stadium funding "fair and square." Without the state's one-third contribution to the projects, city and county funds are on hold indefinitely.

Immediately, Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy went into action. McClatchy demanded a guarantee by Dec. 21 that the money was coming (unlikely, as the legislature is not scheduled to reconvene until Jan. 5), warned that he would be forced to sell off young stars without a new stadium ("I don't want to be standing here two years from now answering questions about why we have to let Jason Kendall go"), and threatened to sell or move the team ("We can't be here long-term if we can't put a competitive team on the field"). Steelers ownership was less inflammatory in its criticism, and had in fact recommended to Ridge that he veto the "stealth" funding bill out of fairness to legislators. . . .

The Toronto Blue Jays have a new lease deal at SkyDome, but it may yet be held up in court. The team, which had earlier threatened to return to aging Exhibition Stadium next year if it didn't get a more lucrative lease deal from SkyDome's private owners (one of which, to complicate matters, is Blue Jays owner Interbrew SA), reached an agreement on Nov. 26 to funnel more revenue from the money-losing stadium into the team's pockets; at the same time, the stadium management filed for bankruptcy protection. A group of SkyDome creditors now plans to file suit against the stadium and the team, claiming the new lease would provide the Jays with an extra $72 million (Canadian) over the next decade while evading $58 million in SkyDome debts.

The stadium's owners have also announced plans to seek tax breaks from the city, claiming the SkyDome is overvalued on the property tax rolls at $200 million. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are reportedly looking into moving from the high-rent American League East to the less competitive Central Division. . . .

Major League Baseball announced Nov. 30 that it was pulling the 2000 All-Star Game from Miami's Pro Player Stadium and reassigning it to Atlanta's Turner Field. "We think these events should be in new stadiums," said MLB spokesman Rich Levin. "The Marlins have been told they will get an All-Star Game if they get a new stadium." Pro Player Stadium, the team's current home, is 11 years old. . . . The Kansas City Chiefs have asked the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority for upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium's 80 luxury suites. No indication how much the improvements would cost, or how they would be paid for. . . . More election day results: Voters in Round Rock, Texas, approved $7 million in public funding for a $13 million minor-league ballpark after heavy lobbying by future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan; and voters in Manchester, N.H., approved a non-binding referendum to explore building a minor-league hockey arena. --December 2, 1998

Padres, Broncos Stadiums Approved; Blue Jays To Quit SkyDome?: Ending a string of five straight losses for stadium funding referendums, voters in San Diego and Denver on Election Day approved building new stadiums for the Padres and Broncos, to be paid for mostly with public money.

In San Diego, Proposition C, which would commit $275 million in public money toward a $411 million baseball stadium in the East Village section of downtown, was approved by a 60-40% margin. The opposition STOP C campaign was outspent in the end by stadium proponents by $2.5 million to $25,000 -- with most of the former coming directly from the Padres.

The day before the vote, a San Diego grand jury had issued an eight-page report accusing stadium backers of misleading voters about the costs of the project. "It is possible that the combination of the city's current financial position and the added projected cost of the ballpark project could force the future city government to reduce vital services and do serious harm to the city's credit rating, thus adding to the cost of other future capital improvements," wrote Foreman Peter J. DiRenza.

In Denver, a new football stadium to replace the Broncos' current home, Mile High Stadium, was approved by a 57-43% vote. Stadium backers had mounted a $2.3 million media and lobbying campaign for a yes vote, backed by at least $1.4 million (and rumored to be much more) in donations from Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. (The opposition had a budget of roughly $30,000.) A six-county sales tax hike will now contribute $260 million toward a $360 million facility. . . . .

SkyDome, which started the modern-stadium craze when it opened to capacity crowds in the summer of 1989, could be left without its prime tenant if the Toronto Blue Jays aren't granted lease concessions. Interbrew, which owns 90% of the Blue Jays (and 48% of SkyDome), threatened last week to move the team if they are not granted a greater share of stadium revenues from concessions, luxury boxes, and club seating. A team spokesman said the club was investigating playing the next two seasons in Exhibition Stadium -- a converted football stadium where the team played from 1977 to 1989, and which is scheduled for demolition next month -- or of building a baseball-only stadium if a new lease cannot be worked out. SkyDome, which was built by the province of Ontario but later sold to a private group headed by Interbrew, is already on the brink of insolvency, reeling from $65 million (Canadian) in debt and the loss of revenue from the locked-out Toronto Raptors basketball franchise, which is already scheduled to move to a new arena early in 1999. . . .

The New Jersey Nets, unhappy with their current lease at Continental Airlines Arena and threatening a move from the Meadowlands to Newark, signed a new lease last year that sounds like a win-win for the team. The new agreement gives the Nets a greater share of arena revenue, in exchange for tying the team to the Meadowlands through the 2007-2008 season. However, the team can leave the state beginning in 2004 without paying penalties, and can move elsewhere in New Jersey (such as Newark) at any time. . . . New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon says he hopes to have an agreement with the city on a new $500 million baseball stadium by next June, with construction to be completed by 2003. --November 4, 1998

They're Dropping Like Zambonis: An NHL franchise declared bankruptcy for the first time in two decades last month, and another may follow before the year is out. Pittsburgh Penguins owners Roger Marino and Howard Baldwin, facing lawsuits from former star Mario Lemieux and Fox Sports Pittsburgh, among others, filed Chapter 11 in October in hopes of forcing Pittsburgh Civic Arena manager to tear up their lease. (The team plans to continue its normal operations.) Meanwhile, New York Islanders owners Steven Gluckstern and Howard Milstein, embroiled in similar battle with SMG over their lease at Nassau Coliseum, are reportedly considering filing Chapter 7 and liquidating their interest in the team, in which case the franchise could end up being run by the league. Both sets of owners are ultimately seeking new publicly funded arenas. . . .

As the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres met in the World Series this month, each team's city was gearing up for a battle over ballpark funding. . . . In New York, a state appeals court overturned an earlier ruling placing a Manhattan stadium referendum on the November ballot (see October 8 entry). City council speaker Peter Vallone, the referendum's main backer, has promised to try again in 1999. . . . The New York Post's Phil Mushnick reports that top executives at all four city dailies accepted seats in George Steinbrenner's private suite for playoff games. "Interesting, too," writes Mushnick, "is that at a time when polls find New Yorkers prepared to reject a proposal to build Steinbrenner a new stadium -- should the issue come to a vote -- many editorialists see it George's way." . . . San Diego, meanwhile, moves toward its own vote next week on Proposition C, which would devote $275 million in city hotel tax money toward building a new $411 million baseball stadium for the Padres. The Prop C campaign has benefitted from nearly $2.2 million in contributions ($1.7 million from the Padres owners themselves), and "Yes on C" ads on everything from the Qualcomm Stadium outfield wall to stadium beer cups to local Pizza Hut boxes. Meanwhile, says Strike Three On Proposition C (STOP-C) co-chair Chris Michaels, "People are reluctant to put 'No on C' stickers on their cars for fear of people thinking they're against the Padres, or un-American." . . . New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had his own comments on the San Diego battle at a Yankee "pep rally" on October 15, two days before the start of the World Series. "I know what's going to happen in San Diego when they vote down Proposition C," Giuliani said. "I've watched the history of the last 10 places that voted down money for funding stadiums and lost their team." The mayor didn't mention which 10 places, and with good reason: No city in history has lost its team after voting down a stadium referendum. . . .

With billionaire Florida Marlins (and Florida Panthers, and National Car Rental) owner Wayne Huizenga claiming he lost $34 million on last year's championship Marlins team, sports economist Andrew Zimbalist took a closer look at the numbers for the October 18 New York Times Magazine. Huizenga's revenue figures, he discovered, did not include Pro Player Stadium's 195 luxury boxes or 10,000 club seats, all of which were diverted to Huizenga's separate stadium management company; the team also undervalued its cable contract with Huizenga's Sportschannel Florida, and paid Huizenga $5 million in rent on Pro Player Stadium. Zimbalist's estimate of the actual Marlins bottom line: a $13.8 million profit. . . . Another noted public stadium opponent, Indiana University's Mark Rosentraub, made headlines in San Diego when he issued a report endorsing the proposed Padres ballpark as a way of refocusing development downtown. The study's sponsor? Major League Baseball, which paid Rosentraub $13,000 for his work. . . . Subscribers to Fox Sports New York are enraged that the cable channel has been yanking New York Islanders games off the air, claiming low ad sales. FSNY's parent company, Cablevision, owns the competing New York Rangers. . . .

The Oakland A's have invoked a clause allowing them to go year-to-year in their lease on Oakland Coliseum. Public officials now have 120 days to find a local buyer willing to pay at least 90% of the reported $135 million asking price for the team, or the A's could be sold and moved. "In the best of all worlds, we would like to find a way to build a baseball-only venue for this team in the Bay Area," said team co-owner Steve Schott in a statement. Schott has been rumored to have interest in moving the team to neighboring San Jose, a city whose voters twice rejected publicly funded baseball stadiums in the early '90s. --October 26, 1998