Facility Notes

The Univ. of Minnesota (UM) Board of Regents voted 11-1 to trade 2,840 acres of its 7,700-acre property in Dakota County to the state of Minnesota “for more cash to build a campus football stadium.” The state will pay the school up to $9.4M a year for 25 years and UM will use the money to finance bonds, which will cut a “planned student-stadium fee in half to $50 a year.” The school and state will each pay half of the stadium’s $248M cost (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 3/28).

Bucks Get $6.5M From Bradley Center During ’05 Fiscal Year

BRADLEY CENTER: In Milwaukee, Don Walker reports the Bradley Center provided a total of $6.5M to the Bucks in FY ’05. Arena operating revenue dropped from $17.9M to $17.6M, which Bradley Center President & CEO Steve Costello attributed to “declining attendance” at Bucks’ games during the ’04-05 season and the lack of playoff games. The Bucks pay no rent at the Bradley Center and receive all income from signage and sponsorships. The team also receives “operational support in the form of ticketing, building operations, event services, ushers, video services and custodial services” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/28).

SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE: Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) President Eddie Gossage, on the impact a proposed IRL race in San Antonio would have on the IRL Bombardier Learjet 500 at TMS: “We think it splits the market in two and confuses the fans who mistake that product for what we’re doing at TMS. That’s one of those items that is frustrating (about doing business with the IRL). The fact that we developed the market and that they would even consider such a deal” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/26). Meanwhile, TMS unveiled its new Victory Lane Broadcast Center, a two-story facility for TV and radio media outlets with sound-proof studios overlooking Victory Circle and the frontstretch. The upper level will feature seven enclosed studios (TMS).