NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue addressed the Patriots'
stadium issue during his state of the league address on
Friday. Tagliabue said if Patriots Owner Robert Kraft's
plan for a stadium in South Boston "doesn't succeed, I would
think that serious alternatives other than Boston and
Foxboro would have to be explored in New England" (ESPN,
1/24). The Pats have held discussions with the Pequot's
about a possible stadium near the Foxwoods Casino in CT.
The BOSTON GLOBE's Will McDonough, on Tagliabue's remarks:
"The Pequot Indians had a pretty good day here Friday
without even knowing it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/25). The BOSTON
HERALD's Joe Battenfeld reports that MA Gov. William Weld
"warned" Tagliabue in a private meeting he would "fight" a
proposed Patriots stadium in CT. Battenfeld notes that
"despite Tagliabue's public backing of the South Boston site
... Weld aides say the NFL's main interest is in keeping the
team in New England -- not just Massachusetts." A Weld
aide: "The problem is Tagliabue doesn't care as long as it's
in the (New England) media market" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/26).
A CONTENDER? Providence, RI, Mayor Vincent Cianci Jr.
has hired KPMG Peat Marwick to calculate the cost of
building a Pats stadium (AP/BOSTON GLOBE, 1/26)....Under the
header, "Do We Need A Stadium To Be A World-Class City?,"
the GLOBE sampled the opinions of six urban planners on that
issue (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/26).
