FACILITY NOTES

          TO KINGDOME COME: ESPN's Kenny Mayne, moments before
     the implosion of Seattle's Kingdome: "For the record, this
     is my first implosion."  Mayne, giving his take on the
     Kingdome: "If the Kingdome had been a guy, I imagine he'd be
     rather unsuccessful with women, but he'd have a really good
     attendance record at work and saved a lot in the 401(k)
     every week."  After the implosion, Mayne said, "A reminder
     to Seattle parents: Youth soccer has been cancelled at the
     Kingdome for this week" (ESPN, 3/26). On "Fox Sports News,"
     Keith Olbermann said of the demolition, "Seems like a waste
     of effort.  The thing probably would have fallen down by the
     end of the week, on its own."  More Olbermann: "They blew it
     to Kingdome Come" (FSN, 3/26).  In Seattle, Saperstein &
     Jamieson write, "Vibrations from the implosion, equal to a
     2.3-magnitude earthquake, rippled through the [local area].
     The sound of the blast traveled for miles, and some people
     said they felt concussions from far away."  The Dome, which
     "still isn't paid for," has $125M remaining in debt that
     "will not be cleared until" 2016 and is financed by a 2%
     hotel-motel tax (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 3/27).
          NAY-DER? In Boston, Meg Vaillancourt wrote that Green
     Party Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader "blasted" the Red
     Sox' plans for a $600M new Fenway park and said that the
     team's ballpark plan was similar to "the ancient Roman
     circus."  Nader: "They both feature gladiators, but this
     scheme is worse because at least the ancient Romans let in
     the fans for free" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/26).  Nader writes an
     Op-Ed in today's BOSTON GLOBE against the ballpark (3/27). 
          NOTES: In Charlotte, Ron Green, on the Hornets' pursuit
     of a new arena: "If the team doesn't ask for more than $60
     million in public assistance ... I think they'll get it. ...
     If it's, say, $100 million and it goes to a public
     referendum, it probably will be rejected and the Hornets
     will be playing in some other town in a couple of years"
     (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/27).  Hornets co-Owner Ray Wooldridge
     "admits he's in a holding pattern" on his presentation to
     Charlotte City Council for an uptown arena.  Wooldridge:
     "It's getting real complex.  It's getting more complex than
     just getting an arena."  He hopes to make his presentation
     within "the next couple of weeks" (GASTON GAZETTE, 3/27).