Facility Notes

Xanadu Official Says Complex'  Opening Will Be Delayed Again

In a front-page piece for the Newark STAR-LEDGER, Ted Sherman reported Xanadu officials said that the opening of the 2.3 million-square-foot complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, “will again be delayed,” and “some construction is being slowed.” A spokesperson for the developer, Meadowlands Xanadu, said that the project is not being halted -- only that it will not open as planned late this summer because of financing issues with one of its lenders.” No new opening date has been set for the project, which is “about 90[%] complete.” NJSEA officials said that the authority is “reviewing its redevelopment agreement to see what remedies the agency may have if the project is suspended” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/21). NJSEA in a statement said the delay has “nothing to do with the long-term economic viability of the project, as it is simply a function of the developers determining the optimal time to open to ensure the project’s success” (NJSEA). A Bergen RECORD editorial stated, “No one wants to see such a huge project, however poorly planned, fail” (Bergen RECORD, 3/24).

STAR SEARCH: In Dallas, Jean-Jacques Taylor writes paying “huge money” for naming rights to the Cowboys’ new stadium “isn’t nearly as good a deal” as team Owner Jerry Jones figured it would be. The Cowboys "haven’t won a playoff game in 12 years, and the team doesn’t have a transcendent star." The Cowboys have “one of the world’s two or three most recognizable logos, but they don’t have the substance behind it like they did in the ‘90s” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/25).

BACK ON TRACK: In Milwaukee, Don Walker reported the Milwaukee Mile has extended its marketing deal with Budweiser and Beechwood Sales & Services, one of Wisconsin’s “largest Anheuser-Busch distributors.” As part of the multi-year agreement, Budweiser will be the track’s official malt beverage sponsor and will have an “increased presence at the track” (JSONLINE.com, 3/23).