A CA Superior Court judge Friday dismissed a lawsuit that
has kept a planned $66M expansion of Jack Murphy Stadium on hold.
However, according to the San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE, the city still
will be unable to issue bonds for the project because of an
expected appeal. Barry Bloom reports "the risks are enormous"
for the city, after commitments to the NFL the improvements would
be done in order to lure the '98 Super Bowl. The improvements
will also result in a lease extension to keep the Chargers in
town until 2020. The city is also in the middle of construction
of a $10M training facility for the team, but work may halt when
funding runs out (UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/17). San Diego City Manager
Jack McGrory denied looking into hosting the '99 Super Bowl
instead (UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/18).
SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS? The Padres are not happy with the
prospect of construction occurring during the baseball season.
Bloom reports that due to the litigation, the city has notified
the Padres that bleacher seating and portions of the press and
loge levels could be "out of commission" by mid-season. The work
could mean the loss of 15,000 seats. The Padres have notified the
city that construction could cause "severe financial hardship"
(UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/18).
