Facility Notes

In New Jersey, John Brennan noted with the Xanadu project at the Meadowlands “jeopardized by Mills Corp.’s financial struggles, East Rutherford’s elected officials are considering another ramification — the potential loss of millions annually in payments in lieu of taxes on the land at the Continental [Airlines] Arena site.” Council member Jeff Lahullier said, “The council is kind of up in the air right now, because we don’t want to spend money for upgrades if we aren’t going to have any revenue coming from Xanadu” (Bergen RECORD, 8/19). A Newark STAR-LEDGER editorial stated, “It’s time for the [NJSEA] to recognize the obvious: Future development of 104 acres in the Meadowlands around the Continental Arena can no longer be tied to the disintegrating Mills Corp.” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 8/20).

CANDIDATE SCREENING: Lobbyist Michael Brown, who is seeking the Democratic mayoral nomination in DC, said that as mayor he would “stop construction of the [Nationals ballpark] and instead would refurbish RFK Stadium for the team.” Brown: “When this deal is done, it’s going to be $1[B]. What I’d like to do is reprogram some of those dollars to other things here in [DC] and at the same time refurbish RFK” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 8/21).

FIREHOUSE: Flames President & CEO Ken King said that the club is “finding out the value of renovating the Saddledome compared to building” a new arena. In Calgary, Todd Saelhof noted the Saddledome underwent C$37M worth of renovations in ’95. Cana Construction and architects Graham Edmunds Cartier have been hired by the Flames “to table different options” — renovation or new construction. King “calculated the cost of a state-of-the-art facility built from the ground up at more than” C$250M. King: “We want to find out what would it cost us to retrofit the building — and is it even doable?” (CALGARY SUN, 8/19).

CAMPAIGN TRAIL: In Albany, James Odato cited Board of Election records showing that Indian casino developer Coastal Development “provided a private jet for Eliot Spitzer’s gubernatorial campaign travel.” Coastal President Richard Fields is part of Excelsior Racing Associates, which is seeking the New York horse racing franchise. The Spitzer campaign paid $4,300 for use of the plane, which covered Spitzer and a staffer’s flight. Odato noted Spitzer “would deal with casino and racing issues if elected governor” (Albany TIMES UNION, 8/19).