In AZ, Shaun McKinnon writes a coalition of West Valley
community and business leaders "put up the money Tuesday to
see whether a west Phoenix cotton field could become the
site" of a proposed $331M domed football stadium for the
Cardinals. The coalition paid $93,000 to retain Ernst &
Young for a study by October 23 (AZ REPUBLIC, 9/27).
OTHER NOTES: The Div. I-AA FL Atlantic Univ. (FAU)
football team will play all regular season home games at Pro
Player Stadium beginning in 2001. The agreement between Pro
Player Stadium and FAU is for a minimum of three years,
effective September 2001, coinciding with FAU's inaugural
season (Pro Player Stadium). In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah
Talalay writes the agreement calls for FAU to pay a flat fee
of $40,000 a game or "if ticket sales exceed that amount,"
10% of the gross (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 9/27).
...Porter Wharton, a former political consultant for the
Broncos, filed a countersuit against the team on Tuesday,
"countering a claim the team filed against him last week
over a disputed multimillion-dollar bonus" (see THE DAILY,
9/25). Wharton claims that he and Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen
"made an oral agreement" that he would get a $4M bonus from
profits the team made on the new $364M stadium (DENVER POST,
9/27). Wharton estimates his lobbying efforts "increased
the value" of the team "by at least" $200M and he "deserves"
a 2% bonus for those efforts (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 9/27).
