The cost of construction of Bank One Ballpark increased by
$30M to nearly $330M after Maricopa County Stadium District
officials opened bids for the third phase of construction.
D'Backs Managing Owner Jerry Colangelo said the costs will be
handled by the team and not passed on to taxpayers (ARIZONA
REPUBLIC, 3/22)....Charlie Lyons, President of Ascent
Entertainment Group, owners of the Nuggets and Avalanche, said
they are "close to a deal" to buy downtown land for a new 19,000-
seat Pepsi Center. Lyons told Denver Mayor Wellington Webb they
are also near a deal to purchase former partner Philip Anshcutz's
interest in the new arena (Colorado Spring GAZETTE TELEGRAPH,
3/23)....Bill Conlin, on voters in Detroit and Cincinnati
approving stadium financing deals: "The cynic in my sensitive
soul asks this: How would these referendums have turned out if
all this public money was to be used to buy personal computers
for every Detroit and Cincinnati school kid. I mean, wouldn't it
be nice if America went into the 21st century knowing more about
reading, writing, and arithmetic than about the salary cap?"
("SportsReporters," ESPN, 3/24).
