The Eagles broke ground yesterday on a new
practice/training facility in South Philadelphia, "even
though legislation ratifying the construction agreement
hasn't even been introduced in City Council." The deal
calls for the Eagles to complete their $30M NovaCare complex
and for the city to buy the facility and put $80M worth of
repairs into Veterans Stadium if "a deal to build new
stadiums [for the Eagles and Phillies] isn't finished" by
November 3. The Eagles and Philadelphia Mayor John Street
plan to "get the practice site agreement to City Council
this week" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/15). In
Philadelphia, Rich Hofmann writes on the ground-breaking:
"In a process that has moved so far by inches, yesterday was
a display of some big feet" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/15).
OTHER NOTES: The Triple A Charlotte Knights are
exploring plans for a new uptown ballpark with a design that
"would be convertible for a potential major league franchise
in the city." The Knights' lease at 10,000-seat Knights
Stadium in Fort Mill, SC, expires after the 2003 season. No
price estimates or specific sites have been determined
(SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/14 issue)....A DALLAS MORNING
NEWS editorial says the City of Irving should consider
naming Texas Stadium after the late Tom Landry, calling it
"only fitting. ... It would dignify the steadfast work of a
leader who brought honor to his community" (DALLAS MORNING
NEWS, 2/15)....In NJ, Tim Leonard writes on soccer clubs in
England that are selling naming rights to their stadiums.
Currently, only five of the 92 stadiums used by Football
Association clubs have corporate identities (Bergen RECORD,
2/15)....Bristol Motor Speedway and its current Owner,
Speedway Motorsports, are being sued for $65M by former
Owner Larry Carter, who claims workers "denied his family
access to his leased property and even used a chemical spray
to keep his son away." Carter is seeking $15M in
compensatory damages and $50M in punitive damages. Carter
sold the property in '96 for $26.5M to SMI (AP, 2/12).
