NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue joined a crowd of about 150 people in a ceremony yesterday to dedicate the new Jack Kent Cooke Stadium and to "commemorate" the Redskins' late owner, according to Pan & Reid of the WASHINGTON POST. The facility opens on Sunday. Tagliabue said, "It's as good a stadium as there is in the NFL," and added that he liked it so much that the NFL has leased a luxury suite "to showcase the stadium to people" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/12). ANTICIPATION: Today's WASHINGTON POST includes a special section dedicated to the stadium. Among highlights: Leonard Shapiro writes on the NFL's building boom, as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium is among 18 "new or renovated" NFL facilities that have been built or approved since '92....Vick & Heath add that the facility was built in 17 months, "faster than any modern football stadium has been built." With a capacity of "approximately" 80,000, it becomes the league's second largest facility, behind the Pontiac Silverdome....It contains 208 luxury suites, costing between $159,950 a season "at midfield" to $59,950 a season "in the end zones"....There are 22,727 parking spaces at the new facility, and officials estimate that the clearing time for the parking lots will be 60-80 minutes....The Redskins will wear a patch "bearing the signature" of the late Jack Kent Cooke, which "will remain" on their uniforms for the rest of the season....About 4,000 people who were on the waiting list for season-tickets were able to purchase general seating seats at the new stadium, while "thousands" of others, "many" not on the waiting list, bought the "more expensive" club tickets. Team officials said that the waiting list, which contained "about" 45,000 names last year, has grown to "about" 50,000 (WASHINGTON POST, 9/12). A SHRINE TO THE SQUIRE: USA TODAY's sports cover story features John Kent Cooke and the stadium. USA TODAY's Bill Meyers writes that the stadium "will be a lasting shrine" to the late owner. At the end of every game, the Jumbotron system at the stadium will show video images of Jack Kent Cooke "thundering, 'The best bloody fans on the face of the earth, the Washington Redskins fans!'" (USA TODAY, 9/12).
