NFL Dir of Communications Greg Aiello, on the legality
of Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and the Mashantucket Pequots,
who run the casino in Foxwoods, CT, entering a stadium
partnership: "There is nothing in the rules that addresses it
specifically. The policy on gambling has to do with improper
associations with gambling activities and promotional
relationships. And that wouldn't necessarily have to be the
case with a stadium on a piece of land" (HARTFORD COURANT,
1/22)....In Houston, officials from Astrodome USA, Harris
County and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo asked city
Mayor Bob Lanier yesterday to let the Oilers buy out the last
year of its Astrodome lease so it can move to Tennessee next
year. Lanier told the groups he would give them an answer
Monday (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/22)....In L.A., Larry Gordon
examines the future of the area around Dodger Stadium, noting
"the right balance between tradition and innovation might be
a baseball theme park, possibly called Dodgertown, next to
the stadium." Ticketmaster President Fred Rosen "agreed that
an entertainment complex in Chavez Ravine might include
amateur sports and interactive games" (L.A. TIMES, 1/20).
...The Expos and the Olympic Installations Board are
negotiating a two-year lease that would be the first formal
lease Claude Brochu's consortium has had since purchasing the
team in '91 (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 1/21).
