Facility Notes

Jacksonville City Council Approves New Jaguars And Gator Bowl Leases

In Jacksonville, Gregory Richards reports the Jacksonville City Council last night unanimously approved a revised Alltel Stadium lease for the Jaguars and an extended Gator Bowl lease. The Jaguars lease will save the team $8.6M in rent, and in exchange, the Jaguars will give the city the stadium “free of the team’s advertisers six times per year.” The lease with the Gator Bowl Association keeps the game in Jacksonville through 2016. Under the new deal, the association will pay $80,000 to rent the stadium, up from $75,000 (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/11).

CHARGERS: A SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE editorial on the Chargers ending their push to put a stadium proposal on the November ballot states, “This audible in the first quarter should not deter the Chargers from continuing to pursue a new stadium in San Diego. Nor should it deter Mayor Jerry Sanders and the City Council from collaborating with the team in a good-faith bid to achieve this goal. ... Now that both the team and the city have some time to reconsider a deal, all options should be put on the table” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/11).

WRIGLEY: Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney wants to raise the height limit of rooftop clubs overlooking Wrigley Field to 69 feet — an eight-foot increase — “in exchange for landscaping, emergency lighting and sprinkler systems.” But area residents are concerned the change “could lead to increased congestion.” To “ease those concerns, the rooftops will match the promise that helped the Cubs win City Council approval of a 1,790-seat bleacher expansion.” The clubs agreed to contribute 8% toward an $800,000-a-year fund that helps “alleviate parking, traffic and sanitation problems caused by Cub fans” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/10).

WORLD CUP: Berlin-based consumer group Stiftung Warentest claimed that “two thirds of the 12 arenas to be used at the [FIFA] World Cup finals this summer are safety hazards.” The group is “concerned at the lack of suitable exits in the event of panic,” but tournament organizers said that the group is “spreading unnecessary panic.” World Cup Organizing Committee President Franz Beckenbauer said, “I’m sick of the army of know-alls and busybodies trying to make a name for themselves via the World Cup.” But the committee has “agreed to study the report carefully and implement any ‘justified demands’” (LONDON TIMES, 1/11).