NHL FRANCHISE NOTES

          In Columbus, the Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena will
     formally announce on Thursday that they have sold the NHL-
     mandated 12,000 season tickets for their inaugural season. 
     The Blue Jackets are the first NHL team to "require" PSLs
     for every season ticket and did so "to begin servicing the
     debt" on the $150M arena (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 3/28).
          ALL-STAR LEVERAGE: In Denver, Jim Benton reported that
     any Avalanche fans "opting to renew their season ticket
     accounts for next season will be guaranteed the chance to
     purchase tickets" for next year's NHL All-Star Game.  Season
     tickets prices for next season will be 8% higher than this
     season, an average increase of between $2-7 per ticket for
     99% of the Pepsi Center (ROCKY MTN NEWS, 3/27). Avalanche
     VP/Ticket Sales & Service Paul Andrews called the All-Star
     deal a "huge commitment on our part" (DENVER POST, 3/27).