HOME OF THE WILD: CITY, TEAM AGREE ON NEW LEASE DEAL

          The St. Paul City Council approved a 25-year lease deal
     with the NHL expansion Wild, according to Curt Brown of the
     Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE.  As part of the deal, the city is
     committed to borrow $65M to finance the new $130M facility. 
     The state of MN will fund the other half with a $48M
     interest-free state loan and a $17M grant made in exchange
     for the Wild hosting public events at the arena.  The team
     will "keep nearly all of the revenues" when the arena opens
     in 2000.  But it has "pledged to repay about 90 percent of
     the government loans with rent and tax payments," and it has
     agreed to cover any cost overruns.  An amendment requiring
     the team to hire "at least" 50 full-time employees at $8.70
     an hour, not including players and front-office execs, also
     passed.  The city originally agreed to invest $95M in the
     new arena, but the figure changed after discussions with
     state legislators (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/14).