FACILITY NOTES

          ARENA FIRE NOT SEEN AS SERIOUS: A "small fire" at the
     new NHL Wild arena in St. Paul "caused about $20,000" in
     damage "but won't delay its opening," according to team
     officials.  Wild VP/Communications Bill Robertson said that
     the fire "burned a temporary plywood platform" (Minneapolis
     STAR TRIBUNE, 7/17).  Robertson: "The loss is minimal, that
     is what I am told" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/17).
          NOTES: A "capacity crowd" of 6,101 attended the opening
     of Riverfront Stadium for the Atlantic League Newark Bears
     Friday, returning baseball to Newark after 50 years (STAR-
     LEDGER, 7/17)....Ted Williams supported a new Fenway Park in
     a BOSTON GLOBE Op-Ed: "Ballplayers don't last forever. 
     Neither do the ballparks they play in. ... Boston has to have
     a team that is competitive in every way that is affordable to
     the fans. ... Now's the time" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/17).