Facility Notes

NBA Kings co-Owners Joe, Gavin and George Maloof “returned to the negotiating table Wednesday to try to hammer out a deal with the city and county before Election Day.” The seven-hour session, which also included developer Stan Thomas, who is negotiating to buy the proposed site, “produced no agreement on thorny issues such as parking.” But Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson said that he “considered it a major breakthrough that the parties were physically in the same place” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/19).

2010 WORLD CUP: South Africa’s expenses for staging the 2010 World Cup “have ballooned to more than four times the original estimate.” Those costs are now estimated at $1.59B and include $1.1B for five new stadiums, $486M to “improve transportation infrastructure” and $52.5M for broadcasting facilities. When South Africa was awarded the tournament in ’04, the “projected costs involved were said to be in the neighborhood of” $400M (L.A. TIMES, 10/19).

ISLE OF CAPRI: In a letter to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force said that the Isle of Capri proposal “stands out among the three competing for the coveted casino license.” The task force wrote, “When we consider what is the best casino for Pittsburgh — and in the larger context what is the best deal for Pittsburgh — the Isle of Capri plan is the strongest.” The task force was formed by former Mayor Tom Murphy to “study the impact of the casino, interview potential operators, and be the ‘voice of Pittsburgh’” before the PGCB (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 10/19).

TOTTENHAM: Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has “abandoned [its] interest in moving to the 2012 Olympic Stadium, with sporting director Damien Comolli citing the ‘poor atmosphere’ at stadia featuring a running track around the pitch.” Both Tottenham and West Ham United were “understood to have enquired about the possibility” of using the stadium after the Games (Manchester GUARDIAN, 10/17).