MORE MSG GOOD FOR YOU? In N.Y., Charles Bagli writes on
Cablevision's plans to "demolish" MSG and build a new arena
and notes that Cablevision President James Dolan did not say
what subsidies might be involved in the project. Dolan, on
public financing: "It's possible we'll be able to do it
without any help at all" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/21).
NOTES: The Seahawks' First & Goal group will hire a
consultant to recruit corporations interested in a naming
rights deal to the team's new stadium. Seahawks President
Bob Whitsitt, on finding the right regional partner: "If
it's going to be something like Preparation H Arena, we'd
rather pass" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/20)....A record 130,888
people attended 12 events held at the First Union Spectrum
and First Union Center last weekend. The complexes hosted
two 76ers games, two Flyers games, an AHL Phantoms game and
seven Sesame Street Live shows (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS,
3/20)....Boston Mayor Tom Menino said that the city "may
help" the Red Sox' push for a new Fenway Park by "acquiring
and assembling the proposed 14-acre ballpark site." Menino:
"We can help (with land acquisition) if the city has the
ability to recoup the revenues we spend on it" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 3/21)....In N.Y., Harvey Araton writes that
relocating the Nets and Devils to an arena in Newark "makes
sense" because if the state uses taxpayer money, "it ought
to be for a facility that is serviceable for as many
taxpayers as possible." Araton: "The suburbanites in North
Jersey have, for two decades, had their antiseptic drive-in.
Win or lose, it has never been the place to go" (N.Y. TIMES,
3/21)....In Houston, Jonathan Feigen writes that Rockets
players were impressed with Conseco Fieldhouse after the
team's first visit their Sunday. Rockets G Shandon
Anderson, on the arena: "It makes you play better. I've
never had a gym that makes you want to play like that"
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/20)....NBA Commissioner David Stern
visited AmericanAirlines Arena for the first time last night
for the Lakers-Heat game and called the facility "quite
extraordinary. I think in its vision, from the dock to the
hotel plans and the shopping venues, you can see the fan
experience is at the core of it" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/21).
FSN's Keith Olbermann said one suggestion to cut down on the
number of visible empty seats that are prevalent during Heat
game highlights "might be to paint those visible seats
another color, almost any other color besides than that
taxi-cab, tweety-bird, day-glo, brighter-than-the-sun yellow
they have now" ("Fox Sports News," 3/20).