IF YOU BUILD IT...: HOCKEY ARENA TALK PICKS UP IN ST. PAUL

          Talk of a new public-private partnership to build a
     hockey arena in St. Paul has "intensified" after business
     and political leaders received "strong signals" from the NHL
     that a new arena would "strongly enhance, if not guarantee,"
     their bid to land an expansion franchise, according to Curt
     Brown in the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE.  While St. Paul Mayor
     Norm Coleman and lead-investor Robert Naegele Jr. "weren't
     commenting" yesterday, the "tentative plan under discussion"
     calls for the state to finance about $70M, more than half of
     the $130M total cost of the facility.  Naegele's group of 14
     business execs and the city would each contribute about
     $30M, with St. Paul recouping some of its contribution
     through naming rights and other fees (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/24).