The NFL "has a new game plan to keep its teams at
home," according to CNBC's Tyler Matheson last night on
"Business Center." Matheson: "The league said today it will
commit more than $200 million in collateral for new football
stadiums to prevent its teams from moving to other markets"
(CNBC, 5/26). Owners voted 28-1 yesterday, with two
abstentions in Atlanta, to loan "up to half of private
funding to teams in major markets for the building of
stadiums." The first recipients were the Patriots, Eagles
and Broncos (USA TODAY, 5/27). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
reports that the NFL will lend $112M to the Patriots, $54M
to the Eagles and $43M to the Broncos. The loans will be
repaid from club seat revenue that would normally go to the
visiting teams (N.Y. TIMES, 5/27). In Boston, Ron Borges
puts the Patriots' figure at "slightly more" than $141M, to
cover about half the cost of a $277M facility. If teams
can't repay the loan because of unsold club seats, the loan
will be backed by the league's TV revenue, which Raiders
Owner Al Davis opposed: "This is a tax on all the teams that
are not doing as well [as those with new facilities]. ...
Never before in the history of the league have the poor
given to the rich for them to do well. ... The use of TV
revenue to cover a shortfall may not even be legal." Davis
abstained from voting, and the lone "no" was cast by Bengals
President Mike Brown (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/27). The Patriots
have 15 years to pay back the loan, and if the team is sold,
Patriots Owner Robert Kraft "must repay the balance of the
loan himself" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/27). Broncos Owner Pat
Bowlen: "It's not free money. But it's good news to the
extent that, rather than having to borrow, say, $150 million
from the bank, we can borrow $100 million from the bank and
about $45 million from the league. And the league makes it
available at a significantly better interest rate. It will
save us some interest cost" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 5/27).
EUROPEAN VACATION: In San Diego, Jerry Magee reports
that the NFL has decided to continue its NFL Europe league
for four more years. Although the league is losing about
$10M a year, Tagliabue said that American football "no
longer is viewed as a novelty" in Europe and "a genuine fan
base is developing" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/27).
