SUITE DEAL: HOUSTON TOTALLY COMMITTED TO NEW ARENA

          The city of Houston agreed Wednesday "to contribute"
     $20M toward building a downtown arena for the Rockets,
     according to Eric Berger of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE, who notes
     that "much" of the Houston City Council's opposition to the
     arena "had already been defused" by concessions from both
     the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and the Rockets
     in the last few months.  The city is "is no longer being
     asked" to build a $35M parking garage and will receive
     $200,000 per year from the sale of the arena's naming
     rights.  The city will also receive a suite in the arena and
     can use the building for fund-raising dates and after 30
     years "it would own the arena and the parking garage."  The
     approval clears the last "policy hurdle" that arena
     supporters faced heading toward a November 7 public
     referendum (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/14).