POLLIN ALTERS PLAN ON PROVIDING "SMART SEATS" AT MCI CENTER

     Bullets/Caps Owner Abe Pollin has given up on plans "to put
revolutionary 'smart seats'" in the $175M MCI Center being built
in downtown Washington, according to Thomas Heath of the
WASHINGTON POST.  The 3,000 seats "were supposed to offer
fingertip, digital technology to fans -- each with a TV monitor
to see replays and statistics and a credit card reader for
purchasing food."  But a "number of technological problems have
forced" Pollin and MCI Corp. to abandon installation for now.
MCI is "still planning to make the arena a showcase but not with
smart seats."  One possible substitute is interactive kiosks in
the hallway.  Bullets GM Wes Unseld said those who purchased the
$7,500-a-year club seat because of the new technology have been
contacted about the change (WASHINGTON POST, 11/9).