FACILITY NOTES

          The MN House yesterday passed a $945M capital
     improvement bill, "a laundry list of projects that includes"
     $65M for a hockey arena in St. Paul and $67M for expansion
     of the Minneapolis Convention Center.  MN Governor Arne
     Carlson "hinted that he might use his line-item veto
     authority against" the Convention Center money if the St.
     Paul arena "isn't funded" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/13). 
     The "fight now moves to the House-Senate conference
     committee, because the Senate version of the bill," passed
     last week, contained no money for the arena (PIONEER PRESS,
     3/13)....In Boston, Joan Vennochi writes on the off-the-
     field problems that may affect both the Patriots' and Red
     Sox' bids for new stadiums.  The timing of Dave Meggett's
     recent arrest "was exceptionally bad" for the Pats and she
     notes the Sox' public debate with Mo Vaughn.  She writes it
     "makes sense for the Patriots ... to cool it on the stadium
     bill until the Meggett controversy cools" (GLOBE, 3/13).