COULD INJURIES IMPACT CARDINALS VOTE? ESPN's Chris
Mortensen noted the number of preseason injuries to the NFL
Cardinals and referenced the upcoming stadium vote this
November: "In order to get a ballot passed like that, you
have to have a successful first half of the season and guess
what, with all these guys out, that's going to be tough
going. So their stadium may be hanging in the balance just
by these injuries over the weekend" (ESPN, 8/21).
NAMING RIGHTS DEAL IN AUSTRALIA: The AUSTRALIAN
FINANCIAL REVIEW's Allen & O'Riordan reported that ANZ
Banking Group "has trumped rival corporations" Westpace and
Telstra by securing the "biggest naming rights deal" in
Australia, paying more than A$50M for sponsorship rights at
Sydney's Olympic stadium. Details of the ten-year deal are
"unlikely to be made public until after the Olympics," with
the sponsorship to take effect on January 1 next year. As
part of the deal, the Olympic facility will be renamed ANZ
Stadium, and the bank "will have an option to extend its
initial 10-year lease" (AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, 8/21).
NOTES: Tigers Owner Mike Ilitch might be willing to
bring in Comerica Park's outfield fences, which would meet a
key complaint of Tigers OF and likely free agent Juan
Gonzalez. Ilitch: "I'm going to keep an open mind on
everything. If there's something wrong with the park, I
want to try to correct it. Right now, it's something you've
got to look into deeply. What's a fair ballpark? Is it
exciting? We've had more triples. It is a different brand
of baseball here" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 8/22)....In
Pittsburgh, Jerry DiPaola wrote the Steelers moved into the
UPMC Sports Performance Complex, their "spacious new
headquarters ... and everyone seemed impressed." The
complex includes locker and training facilities for the
Steelers and the Univ. of Pittsburgh, as well as an indoor
practice facility that is "nearly completed" and four grass
practice fields (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/21).
