"Concerned about the intense political maneuvering over
     whether -- and where -- to build a new stadium" for the
     Yankees, team Owner George Steinbrenner will not make a
     decision about the ball club's future home until after the
     baseball season ends, according to Barry & Bagli of the N.Y.
     TIMES.  In addition, Steinbrenner's advisors say that he
     "has been talking to" former NY Gov. Mario Cuomo about
     joining an advisory panel "to help him determine his next
     step."  Steinbrenner is also said to be "courting" Coopers &
     Lybrand and HOK Sports Facilities Group.  Barry & Bagli:
     "Executives close to Steinbrenner said that while the
     Yankees organization appreciated the efforts of [NYC Mayor
     Rudy] Giuliani to keep the team in New York City, it had
     become concerned with the furor surrounding the mayor's
     proposal that city tax money be used to help finance a new
     stadium."  Those close to the negotiations said that
     Steinbrenner "wanted to remove the Yankees entirely from the
     politically charged atmosphere" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/1).
          BOSSMAN COMETH? In NJ, Mike Kelly wrote that friends
     say that while Steinbrenner is "inclined to move his team"
     to a new stadium in NJ, "he is acutely aware of what such a
     move would do to his place in baseball history."  Kelly
     added that over 60% of Yankee fans now come from NJ and
     Rockland and Westchester, NY, Counties (RECORD, 4/30).

          MCI Center Exec VP Wes Unseld said that DC officials
     "were aware" of an agreement between the city and the MCI
     Center under which the city paid for DC police being used
     for security and crowd control.  Unseld said the deal was
     "negotiated publicly and approved by elected officials" and
     the DC financial control board (WASHINGTON POST, 5/1).
     ...Citing allegations of "possible fraud," Philadelphia City
     Councilman Jim Kenney called for hearings to investigate
     Ogden Entertainment's food and beverage concessions at
     Veterans Stadium (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 5/1)....A S.F.
     judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that attempted to
     overturn last June's election in which voters approved the
     49ers' plan for a new stadium/mall (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/1).
     ...In CA, drivers are complaining about the "glare from the
     lights" at Edison Field along the Orange Freeway.  CA
     Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Angel Johnson said the CHP "has
     contacted officials" of the ballpark "to ask if they can
     mute" the lights and parking lot billboard.  Stadium
     officials said that they were "interested in any safety
     issues related to the lights" (L.A. TIMES, 4/30). 

          With less than a week left before voters in the Triad
     area will decide whether they want to help pay for a new
     ballpark, "the pro-stadium campaign has tightened the race
     dramatically," according to David Rice of the WINSTON-SALEM
     JOURNAL.  A new poll of 438 likely voters found that 50% of
     voters in Forsyth and Guilford counties oppose a tax on
     prepared foods and baseball tickets to help pay for a
     ballpark, while 43% support it.  The telephone survey was
     taken April 28-29 and was conducted for the newspaper by
     Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research.  It has a margin of
     error of +/- 5%.  The numbers show the gap has narrowed
     since a similar poll last month which showed 61% against the
     tax and 31% for it.  But Rice writes that poll came before
     the Twins played an exhibition game in the area and prior to
     radio and TV ads that began to tout baseball.  The survey
     also showed that 22% of those who said they'll vote for the
     proposal "made up their minds in the past week."  Other
     numbers showed a "sizable gender gap" over the ballpark as
     53% of men surveyed favor the tax, while "just" 33% of women
     support it.  In another note, 4% of those who favor the tax
     do so because they don't want Charlotte to get an MLB team. 
     Ballpark proponents will increase their GOTV efforts this
     week and new TV ads featuring NASCAR drivers and Triad
     residents talking about baseball are set to debut (WINSTON-
     SALEM JOURNAL, 5/1).  In related news, a new study by the
     Univ. of NC-Greensboro shows that an MLB team could be
     "successful in the region and improve the area's economy and
     quality of life."  But the study said it must include a
     "fair lease that protects taxpayers."  The study assumed an
     average attendance of 18,000 (NEWS & RECORD, 4/30).