In Houston, Harris County officials have scheduled a
"town meeting" next week to give the public an open forum in
which to question them about various sports stadium
proposals being considered (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/11)....The
Tampa Sports Authority recommended that current Finance Dir
Henry Saavedra be named interim head of the agency until a
permanent director can be chosen. Saavedra will replace
Rick Nafe, leaving to become Devil Rays VP/Stadia &
Operations (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 12/11)....The Maryland Stadium
Authority is today expected to approve the purchase of three
local properties, and hopes to add a fourth in the near
future, as part of a plan to replace parking spots lost to
construction of the Ravens $175M stadium at Camden Yards
(Baltimore SUN, 12/11)....In San Francisco, calling it "the
smart thing to do," Glenn Dickey writes, "The unspoken
reason Warriors owner Chris Cohan wants to run the expanded
Oakland Coliseum Arena is that he wants to stay at arms
length from Oakland and Alameda County politicians" (S.F.
CHRONICLE, 12/11)....In Seattle, King County Prosecutor Norm
Maleng's office agreed to allow opponents of a new Mariners
ballpark to gather signatures toward their goal of putting
the stadium up for public vote (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/10).
