The Bucs announced a "temporary, but sweeping cut of season-
ticket prices designed to bolster a dwindling fan base."  New
Owner Malcolm Glazer and the three-man trust that ran the team
for the late Hugh Culverhouse reduced season-ticket prices for
every seat in Tampa Stadium. The offer will run through May 12,
when prices will return to last year's levels.  Single game
tickets will remain the same price, but all season-ticket seats
will be discounted at least 5%, and 30,000 seats will be
available at $20 or less.  Bucs GM Rich McKay said the drive was
oriented toward strengthening the season-ticket base, as the team
has "not paid enough attention to season-ticket sales in years
past" (Pat Yasinskas, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 2/3). The Bucs "boldest"
move was the creation of a new category -- the $Buc-50 Zone --
consisting of 3,230 seats whose price tag has been cut from $300
to $150 for the year.  The special is geared to families, who
must buy at least four season-tickets to be eligible for the low
price.  McKay: "You cannot undersell the importance of a season-
ticket base.  It becomes the measuring stick for the viability of
the franchise" (Don Banks, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 2/3).

     The CBA's Hellcats "may be back in business," according to
this morning's HARTFORD COURANT.  After folding Monday, the
Connecticut Development Authority announced yesterday that Brian
Foley, owner of a health care company in CT, had put up $750,000
to operate the team.  The deal would still need to be approved by
the CBA, and it requires that the team stay at the Hartford Civic
Center for the rest of the year.  After this season, Foley could
move the team to another venue.  Foley would also not be
"responsible for the debts" of the previous owner, the Hartford
Sports and Exposition Group. The team "was reassembled in the
past two days and flown -- at Foley's expense" to their next game
site in Illinois (Roy Hasty, HARTFORD COURANT, 2/3).

     ITT's 4thQ profit "jumped" 39%, "driven by strong gains in
the company's automotive and hotel businesses," according to Eben
Shapiro in today's WALL STREET JOURNAL.  The results exceeded
Wall Street's expectations and ITT's stock rose $3.50 or 3.9%, to
$92.50/share.  ITT is in the midst of an "ambitious restructuring
that analysts believe may lead to its being split into three
separate companies based on its three broad business lines":
insurance, manufacturing, and hotels and entertainment.  ITT
Chair/CEO Rand Araskog said a restructuring has the potential to
"create a lot of happiness" among ITT shareholders.  At a meeting
with stock analysts, ITT said it may close its acquisition of
Madison Square Garden, which includes the Knicks & Rangers, in a
"week or two."  ITT also recently completed its tender offer for
Caesars World (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/3).

     "Edmonton's two professional sports franchises are in deep
trouble," according to Scott Feschuk in this morning's  Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL.  The Oilers recorded their smallest home-attendance
figure yet on Wednesday night, and the CFL Eskimos are struggling
to sell 7,000 new season-tickets.  Oilers GM Glen Sather:
"Edmonton is a great hockey town. The sport is huge at the
grassroots level.  People just don't seem to want to see us play
anymore.  It's frustrating."  The Oilers are not playing well,
but Sather points out that team Owner Peter Pocklington spent
millions last year to "spruce up the aging Coliseum."  Byran
Hall, a veteran Edmonton sportscaster said the lousy play of the
team is one reason, but other factors include the increase in
money spent on the video-lottery in Alberta, a backlash to the
hockey work stoppage and higher Oilers' ticket prices.  The
Eskimos' plight is "an even greater mystery as the team had a
winning season and consistently drew 50,000 in the early years,
but only 15,000 season tickets were sold in '94 (Toronto GLOBE &
MAIL, 2/3).  Sather expressed frustration on the poor attendance:
"I could understand if we were charging $40 a ticket, but we're
not.  It just seems like people in the States have accepted what
happened (during the lockout), but people here love to complain.
You can have a hell of a junior club with 10,000 fans, or an IHL
team, but not the NHL.  If this is all we're going to get, it's
not a major league city" (Cam Cole, EDMONTON JOURNAL, 2/3).

     Raptors Dir of Communications Tom Mayenknecht is reportedly
leaving the team to take a position with the rival Grizzlies,
according to reports in Canada this morning.  Sources close to
the Raptors confirmed last night that Mayenknecht, 35, "has given
the Raptors notice and has been hired" as a Grizzlies VP.  He
could begin his new job by the middle of February.  There had
been "unsubstantiated rumors recently" that Mayenknecht and team
VP Isiah Thomas did not "see eye-to-eye on several issues,
including the hiring of a team media relations employee" (Craig
Daniels, TORONTO SUN, 2/3).  Mayenknecht is seen as a "key piece
of the management puzzle" for the Northwest Arena Corp., the
company that runs the Grizzlies, Canucks, and the new GM Place.
Mayenknecht, who was the first executive employee hired by the
team, was one of the Raptors' "most visible" employees during
their drive to sell the NBA mandated 12,500 season tickets (Neil
Campbell, Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/3).
     OTHER NEWS:  Grizzlies Owner Arthur Griffiths and his
partners still owe the NBA US$112M in expansion money, and the
falling Canadian dollar has Griffiths "keeping his fingers
crossed." Griffiths said of the exchange rate: "Last week would
have been ugly, this week is better and hopefully by April it'll
be even better."  The dollar's recovery this week meant a "swing"
of about C$3M on the expansion fee.  Also, the Grizzlies received
their prototype uniforms, but they are not ready to unveil them.
GM Stu Jackson: "We'd like to have the release more closely tied
to when we can actually merchandise the uniform.  And it does
need some tweaking" (Gary Kingston, VANCOUVER SUN, 2/3).

     The announced crowd of 11,896 for Wednesday night's Vipers
game gave the team a season attendance of 401,455 in 29 home
games, which broke the IHL's season attendance record.  The
previous high was 389,876 by the Milwaukee Admirals set last
season (Paul Harris, DETROIT NEWS, 2/2).