The Bucs are expected to give the Hillsborough County
Commission another stadium deal to vote on Friday, according to
this morning's TAMPA TRIBUNE. If the board rejects this latest
proposal, plans for a new stadium would be "dead" and the team
future's in Tampa would be highly in doubt after the '96 season.
On Wednesday, commissioners made "major changes" to a proposal to
build a $168M facility, saying they were protecting taxpayers.
But negotiators said the Bucs will have a new offer to the
commission this morning. Commissioners "seemed to be backing down
from some of the 11 changes they ordered," saying they don't need
all the items for the new agreement to pass. The "key issue" now
appears to be who will manage the stadium, the team or the Tampa
Sports Authority. The Bucs see stadium management "as being
potentially lucrative while commissioners don't want to give
control of a public stadium to a private business" (Jim Kenyon,
TAMPA TRIBUNE, 3/29). A lengthy editorial in today's TAMPA
TRIBUNE credits the commission for the alterations, calling them
"prudent, sensible, and reasonable." The paper adds if the
owners, the Glazer family, "respond in a similar manner, they can
have a solid stadium deal. They are very close" (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
3/29).
