LAMBEAU CONSULTANTS: In Milwaukee, Don Walker writes
that the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football
Stadium District agreed yesterday to hire a consultant to
"review the plans" for renovating Lambeau Field. BOD Chair
Mark McMullen said that the consultant would be retained to
"challenge the work" of K.C.-based Ellerbe Becket, which was
hired by the Packers to renovate Lambeau. The BOD adds that
the total number of consultants for the project is "small,
perhaps as few as four nationwide." Walker notes that a
naming rights deal worth $120M "would save" $55M of the cost
of the stadium and end the county's sales tax a "year and a
half sooner" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/12).
NOTES: In Chicago, Fran Spielman writes that Mayor
Richard Daley's "long-awaited plan" to rebuild Soldier Field
is "likely" to go to the IL General Assembly "next year --
not during this fall's veto session." Financing details
"have yet to be nailed down" in a package that "relies
heavily" on a $200M-plus contribution from the Bears and a
loan from the NFL. Daley: "It's [the Bears'] investment ...
It's up to them to really make the deal. We're not that
close" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/12)....In NJ, Paul Rogers
writes that state officials "remain confident" about the
Meadowlands' future, despite a report that a proposed $400M,
100,000-seat speedway will not be constructed (see THE
DAILY, 10/11). Peter McDonough, spokesperson for NJ Gov.
Christie Whitman, said: "A NASCAR proposal was conceptual at
best. And I don't believe anyone viewed it as necessary for
a vibrant future for the Meadowlands" (Bergen RECORD,
10/12)....San Diego Mayoral candidate Ron Roberts recently
"conceded" that he took a free flight to HI in '97 with the
Padres on team Owner John Moores' private jet. But the
sixth trip to HI, which Roberts said "was a surprise
Father's day present paid for by his wife and daughters,
turned into a mystery story" (S.D. UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/11).
