FACILITY NOTES

          BETTER SAFECO THAN SORRY? In Seattle, Paulson &
     Skidmore write that temporary janitors at Safeco Field "were
     shifted to food service duty" on opening night.  Volume
     Services' Safeco Field GM Alton Hutcheson "acknowledged that
     workers hired to do clean-up around the food stands were
     transferred 'on the spur of the moment' to help" with food
     service (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/29).  A SEATTLE TIMES
     editorial stated that Volume Service's food service is "off
     to an abysmal start" and the company "risks ruining its
     reputation and putting a serious damper on public
     impressions of Safeco Field" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/28).
          NOTES: A study by PA State Sen. Vincent Fumo
     "estimates" that a Phillies ballpark at Broad and Spring
     Garden streets would cost a total of $471.1M, compared with
     a $315M cost should the team build in South Philadelphia. In
     Philadelphia, Ed Moran writes that the numbers, taken from a
     combination of figures provided to Fumo by the Phillies,
     Philadelphia and independent consultants, are "much higher"
     than any previously mentioned by the team or city.  Mayor Ed
     Rendell called the estimates "incorrect" and Phillies
     President Dave Montgomery said the projections were
     "premature" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/29)....Miller Park
     Stadium Board Dir Mike Duckett told the board's Finance
     Committee that "insurance will cover repairs" to the stadium
     resulting from the collapse of a crane July 14 and that the
     accident "will not cost the taxpayers additional money"
     (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/29)....The Red Sox "pitched
     their new ballpark plan" to 300 people at the Boston
     Architectural Center yesterday, "about half of whom voiced
     some support and about half of whom opposed it."  In Boston,
     Meg Vallaincourt write that opponents "were angry that the
     team invited comments from those outside the Fenway
     neighborhood to the meeting" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/29). 
          A WILD IDEA: St. Paul's RiverCentre Authority "is
     considering 'a cooperative management' plan that would turn
     over day-to-day operations for most of the downtown complex"
     to the NHL Wild.  Under the agreement, the Wild would manage
     the complex's $130M hockey arena, $85M convention center and
     the auditorium (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/29).