TORONTO TO SWAP AIR CANADA CENTRE USE FOR A SUITE, SEATS

          Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman said that a luxury suite in
     the new Air Canada Centre is "a heck of a lot better" than
     six days use "in an empty venue," according to Scot Magnish
     of the TORONTO SUN.  Lastman called the original deal, in
     which the city traded land for six days' free use of the
     facility each year, "worth nothing."  Lastman: "What are you
     going to do with six free days?"  The new proposal -- worth
     C$30,000 a year more to the city than the original deal --
     gives Toronto a 12-seat suite and two additional platinum
     seats as a replacement of four of the city's six free days
     (TORONTO SUN, 2/24).  But a TORONTO STAR editorial calls the
     exchange "elitist, sneaky and just plain wrong," as the
     reason behind the "secret" deal is that Lastman and city
     officials "claimed they couldn't think of a way to use the
     sports centre" (TORONTO STAR, 2/24).