Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell's administration has "moved
away" from the notion of a downtown site for a new stadium,
instead concentrating on the "infrastructure of parking and
expressway exits already in place at the South Philadelphia
sports complex" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/25). The CoreStates
Center, set to open Saturday, was the subject of a 28 page
supplement in yesterday's PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Of the $210M
cost to build the facility, $32M came in loans and grants from
the state and city. The rest was contributed by Flyers Owner Ed
Snider and Spectator -- including $150M borrowed through a
consortium led by Prudential Power Funding Associates
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/25)....According to the BOSTON GLOBE's
"Political Capital" column, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Pats
Owner Bob Kraft -- who are at "swordspoint" over the a new Pats
stadium in Boston -- shared a golf cart last week at a pro-am
preceding the Senior PGA tournament in Concord, MA. Menino said
the stadium issue was "mildly mentioned" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/25).
The GLOBE's Will McDonough writes that NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue visited Bank of Boston headquarters last week and
viewed plans for a new Pats stadium. Tagliabue: "It's the most
intelligent financing plan I have ever seen for a stadium, and
the least intrusive on taxpayers. I can't figure out why nothing
is being done about it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/24)....Concerned about a
series of payments between the Lions, Tigers, the City of Detroit
and Wayne County that transfers a proposed $80M hotel and car
rental tax to the Lions for a new domed stadium, MI state Sen.
Michael Bouchard has asked the MI Attorney General to rule
whether the deal is legal (DETROIT NEWS, 8/24)....CNN's Tim
Kurkjian predicts the Astros and the City of Houston will
finalize a new stadium deal within the "next few weeks" that will
keep the team in Houston. Kurkjian: "If they don't, however,
the Astros are going to end up in Northern Virginia next year and
[MLB] is going to be all for them moving. They are not going to
bend over backwards and save Houston .... They will let the
Astros go" ("Baseball '96," CNN, 8/24).
