The Memphis & Shelby Sports Authority unanimously
approved an agreement under which the NFL Oilers will pay
$1.2M by February 1, 1999, for the right to negotiate with
other cities for a '98 lease, according to Thomas Harding of
the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL. The Memphis Park Commission
(MPC) "also approved the deal," and the total amount of the
buyout "is slightly more than" $1.3M as the Oilers "also
forgave the authority a debt of nearly $119,000 for
improvements" to the Liberty Bowl. The Oilers "are expected
to reach an agreement" to play at Nashville's Vanderbilt
Stadium for the '99 season. The Authority will give half of
the settlement to the MPC for Liberty Bowl improvements and
will use the rest to attract events. The deal allows the
Oilers to play in Memphis in '98 if they don't reach a deal
to play elsewhere by April 30 (COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/25).
REAX: In Memphis, Nashville Bureau correspondent John
Glennon writes that "crowds in Nashville are expected to be
larger and more pro-Oilers" (COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/25). Also
in Memphis, David Williams: "[T]his was the Oilers' fiasco,
and their NFL-low average home attendance of 28,028 was
hard-earned. They raised ticket prices, they made little
effort to ingratiate themselves to Memphians, and watched as
this city's national sports image -- not good to start with
-- took a thorough beating" (COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/25).
