D.C. COUNCIL GIVES OK TO AGREEMENT FOR DOWNTOWN ARENA

     The DC council voted unanimously yesterday to approve an
agreement between Bullets/Capitals owner Abe Pollin and Mayor
Marion Barry to build a downtown arena.  The vote came after
Pollin refused to conditions that would require him to generate
more money for the city.  Pollin has agreed to pay $180M for the
construction of the facility, while DC will pay an estimated $50M
for site preparation, including land sale.  The Council's
Committee on Economic Development recommended that Pollin's teams
be required to play all pre-and post-season games at the
facility, be responsible for filling 290 days of events, and
arena concessionaires to pay a real estate tax.  But Pollin's
objections, and the fact MD "still is pushing him to keep his
teams in Prince George's County -- prompted the council to back
down" (Michael Fletcher, WASHINGTON POST, 2/8).