The Boston City Council "will wade into the megaplex muddle"
today when it conducts a hearing on sites and other proposals for
a new convention center that may or may not include fixed
seating.  The hearing is being held weeks before the Boston
Redevelopment Authority is set to release its "long-awaited
report on convention center sites."  New Boston Garden Corp.
President Larry Moulter said he intends to discuss the issue of
"venue compatibility."  Moulter said The Shawmut Center, built
with private funds, should not have to compete with a publicly-
financed facility.  Moulter: "This is the first forum to help the
public appreciate that these buildings should complement, not
compete with, each other" (Phil Primack, BOSTON HERALD, 10/5).  A
new domed stadium is no longer the focus of the Megaplex plan.

     There is a "fierce legal feud" that has developed over land
near The Ballpark in Arlington.  The Mathes family, which owns
the land, has sued the city of Arlington and the Rangers to
challenge the city's purchase of the land.  They charge that the
team and the city "conspired" to improperly condemn the property
when a sale price could not be agreed upon.  The 270-acre stadium
complex will be leased from the city for $3.5M/year until it is
available for purchase in ten years (Ken Dilanian, FT. WORTH
STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/5).
     BEHIND THE SCENES:  Arlington real-estate broker and Rangers
part-owner Mike Reilly mediated several of the proceedings to
obtain private properties on the proposed stadium site.  A memo
from Reilly to Rangers co-owner Tom Schieffer states that the
initial offer for the Mathes property should be the "final
offer," to be followed by condemnation proceedings.  The memo
also says the Rangers should consider establishing "development
standards" with Arlington city officials to give the Rangers "a
tremendous amount of 'quiet' control over the land parcels you
[the Rangers] do not own in this area" -- meaning the team would
have a key role in determining development standards in the area
near the stadium.  Arlington City Attorney Jay Doegey admitted
that Reilly "may have overstepped his bounds" (Selwyn Crawford,
DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/6).
     POLITICAL PLOT?  The Mathes suit has become "fodder for
political gamesmanship" in the TX gubernatorial race.  Rangers
Managing General Partner George W. Bush is a named defendant in
the suit but says he had "no personal involvement."  Bush calls
the suit "a money issue" intended to "pressure" him during the
campaign.  But Gov. Ann Richards' office describes the actions,
if as alleged, as "the height of hypocrisy" (FT. WORTH STAR-
TELEGRAM, 10/5).