Facility Notes

In St. Paul, Dennis Lien reports a bill sent to the Minnesota House floor yesterday would ban "software that beats the public to large blocs of tickets to popular events." The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Atkins, also makes it "illegal to use the automated equipment to bypass security to cut in front of regular buyers." Atkins said that Ticketmaster and the Vikings, Twins and T'Wolves all "endorse the measure" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 3/12).

LEGISLATIVE LETDOWN: In Seattle, Steve Kelley writes, "How can the Sonics be saved, when the people with the power to save them won't even address the issue?" The deal offered last week by a group led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to pay $150M toward a $300M KeyArena renovation was the "best deal this basketball-loving town would ever see, and all [Gov. Christine] Gregoire had to do was call a short special Legislative session and convince the state's lawmakers to find the money to finish the deal." Kelley: "But when Gregoire could have done something extraordinary, she did nothing. And when he could have been a leader, [Speaker of the House Frank] Chopp was a laggard. Neither understood how good and how fleeting this deal was." Kelley notes the investor group has set a deadline of April 10 for the offer (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/12).

PITCH COUNT: FIFA Dir of Communications Andreas Herren yesterday said that the Int'l Football Association Board's rule "mandating that matches involving national teams be played on fields 105 meters long by 68 meters wide" will not prevent existing stadiums from "being the site of future international games." Herren said that the rule applies "only for new stadiums" (AP, 3/11).