In Cincinnati, Dan Klepal reports that the Bengals
yesterday announced that an "agreement in principle" has
been reached in which the team would manage the daily, year-
round operations of Paul Brown Stadium, while officials for
Hamilton County (OH), which owns the facility, said that "a
deal is close." The two sides have been negotiating to
resolve a lawsuit filed by the team "to force the county to
designate" a Bengals' subsidiary as stadium manager
(CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/18)....In Pittsburgh, Robert
Dvorchak writes that Steelers President Dan Rooney met with
construction workers of the team's new stadium, as he "just
wanted to say 'thank you'" for their efforts. A lunch of
hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken and baked beans was
served "atop what will be" a concourse in the north end
zone. Rooney: "We wanted to recognize the workers. It's a
great-looking stadium" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/18).
...In an interview with David Scott of the CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, ACC Commissioner John Swofford "talked about
issues confronting" the conference. When asked about the
ACC potentially moving the men's basketball tournament to
Tampa or DC was "possibly risking the high profile it has in
cities like Greensboro and Charlotte," Swofford said that
"whatever risk-factor" there is will not keep the league
"from going where we need to go." Swofford: "We need to
move around some with the crown jewel of our league in order
to further enhance and develop our league" (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 5/18).
