BASEBALL GIANTS CONSIDER PANTHER PLAN TO FINANCE NEW STADIUM

     The S.F. Giants, eager to build a new stadium, are
considering a seat-licensing strategy similar to that employed by
the Carolina Panthers in which season-ticket holders can purchase
the long-term rights to their seats, which can then be sold or
kept in the family for generations.  In order to finance a $220M
football facility, the Panthers sold permanent seat licenses for
as much as $5,400.  Without endorsing the Charlotte plan, Giants
Senior VP Pat Gallagher said the team probably would have to
similarly finance a new stadium:  "We're going to have to be very
creative.  We'll have to come up with a business solution as
opposed to a political solution. ... Our long-term plan is that
the fans deserve, at some point, to look forward to a new
ballpark" (Michael Martinez, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 10/20).