The Patriots move to Hartford could be approved by NFL
owners "by the end of January," should it be added to the
agenda of the owners meeting scheduled for January 28 in
Miami, according to Daley & Garber of the HARTFORD COURANT.
If there is no vote at that time, the owners would vote on
the relocation in March in Phoenix. Daley & Garber write
that gaining approval from 24 of the 31 NFL owners once a
team has decided to relocate "has generally not proved
difficult and this vote should be no different" (HARTFORD
COURANT, 12/17). In Boston, Tina Cassidy writes that the
stadium bill passed by CT lawmakers will now become a 250-
page development contract to be signed by Patriots Owner
Robert Kraft and CT Gov. John Rowland. Once Kraft signs the
contract, he will be "legally bound" to move the team to
Hartford or "face legal action." The deal is "expected" to
be completed prior to January 15 (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/17).
IT'S ENVIRONMENTAL, MY DEAR WATSON: In Hartford,
Carolyn Moreau writes that "buried" in the stadium bill was
an exemption from a state law that allows citizens to
"intervene in certain permit applications if they believe
the environment could suffer," which means that the public
"lost the right to call expert witnesses or cross-examine
the stadium developers" (HARTFORD COURANT, 12/17). In
Boston, Gregg Krupa writes that a "major stumbling block" in
CT could be energy holding company CTG Resources, owners of
two buildings on the site of the proposed stadium. According
to execs familiar with the bill, if there is a "major delay"
in the stadium's construction, "the Krafts would still have
the right to back out of the deal" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/17).