In Charlotte, Lauren Markoe writes that the Charlotte
City Council approved a schedule yesterday that will have it
vote on a new Hornets arena deal on November 13 (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 8/29)....In Toronto, William Houston cites sources
as saying that in addition to its acquisition of the Blue
Jays, Rogers Communications "intends to buy" the SkyDome
"for about" C$90M. Houston: "It has been said that Ted
Rogers, the head of the company, wishes to commemorate the
100th anniversary of the birth of his late father, Ted
Rogers Sr., who launched the Rogers media empire in the
1930's, by placing the family name on a Toronto building, in
this case the SkyDome" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 8/29)....In
Chicago, Paul Sullivan writes that White Sox Chair Jerry
Reinsdorf "finally conceded drastic changes had to be made"
to Comiskey Park (see THE DAILY, 8/28) "to appease the
team's fans." The announcement of an $8M renovation project
"was a rare mea culpa from Reinsdorf, who consistently has
blamed the team's attendance woes of the late 1990's on fan
resentment over the '94 players' strike" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
8/29)....In Cincinnati, Dan Klepal writes that Paul Brown
Stadium will host its second Open House in three weeks this
Friday night. The August 16 Open House attracted an
estimated crowd of 130,000. Stadium spokesperson Brooke
Hill, on attendance this Friday: "We're not really
projecting a number. There's already been one open house
and two games, so we have no idea how many people will want
to see it" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/29)....First & Goal Inc.
has retained SFX to market and sell the naming rights to the
new Seahawks stadium (First & Goal).