UNITED LOSSES: In DC, Athelia Knight reports the DC
United are "complaining about $300,000 in lost revenue"
after a floodlight malfunction at RFK Stadium forced the
cancellation of the second half of the Wizards-United game
Saturday night. United President & GM Kevin Payne said that
the team will lose that revenue if the game is not replayed
because "each of the 21,035 fans is entitled to a free
tickets to a future regular season game." Payne will talk
to stadium officials about the loss (WASHINGTON POST, 6/12).
NC: In Charlotte, Lauren Markoe wrote that some City
Council members feel the "tight timetable" for a new
downtown arena "could make it impossible for the city to
strike a good deal if it waits" to hold a public referendum.
While the Hornets and the city want a deal done by mid-July
at the latest, the earliest possible date for a referendum
is November 7. Council member Lynn Wheeler: "If the
legislature will not allow us to conduct a referendum ... do
we just sit back and let the Hornets leave? As a council,
we may have to make that decision ourselves" (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 6/10). Meanwhile, former City Council member
Malachi Greene is a new consultant to the team. He will
work with Phoenix Communications, which was retained by the
Hornets to handle PR on the arena deal. Greene is "advising
the team on Charlotte government and community issues"
pertaining to a new arena (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/11).
JACOBS' LADDER: In Boston, Scott Van Voorhis cited
"industry observers" as speculating that Delaware North
Chair Jeremy Jacobs "may be waiting to get a better value"
for his proposed FleetCenter hotel, office and retail
complex by waiting to develop the site after the city's Big
Dig is completed. But FleetCenter President Richard
Krezwick said the site development continues: "I can assure
you we are not sitting on it to wait for the value to
increase." Van Voorhis: "Even so, most observers think
Delaware North will not ultimately build the entire Causeway
Street project itself. Rather, the developer is juicing up
the value of the project for a sale" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/10).
NOTES: Two PA state legislators said that Allegheny
County Sports & Exposition Authority Exec Dir Stephen Leeper
"should resign or be fired" due to "phony" statistics about
minority firm participation in the construction of two new
stadiums in Pittsburgh. But a spokesperson for Mayor Tom
Murphy said that Leeper "is doing a good job and would not
be removed" (POST-GAZETTE, 6/10)....Pacers GM David Kahn, on
Staples Center: "This is an L.A. kind of place. It feels
like an oversized cocktail party. You feel this constant
buzz at all times. You almost feel like the game is a
diversion" (INDY STAR, 6/11)....In K.C., Judy Thomas reports
that a woman was shot in the stomach and a second bullet
went through another women's seat during Friday's Pirates-
Royals game at Kauffman Stadium. Virginia Olsthoorn, who
was struck by the bullet, was released from the hospital
Saturday and "feeling good" on Sunday. Royals Senior Dir of
Communications Jim Lachimia said yesterday that police "told
him that the bullet probably came from outside the stadium"
(K.C. STAR, 6/12).
