Facility Notes

Downtown Facility Will Be Named Louisville Arena If Naming-Rights Partner Not Found

Louisville Arena Authority Chair Jim Host said that if the "right name with the right financing and the right price can't be nailed down before November 1," the city's new downtown arena will be called Louisville Arena. A Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL editorial stated that is the "right and best name, no matter what, and landing other 'cornerstone' sponsors will take the pressure off landing a deep-pockets angel with eponymous dreams." A Louisville Arena "would open up new possibilities for economic development and tourism" for the city, and "would specifically distinguish it from the generic field that includes most other arenas" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 1/10).

ON THE UPSWING: Cleveland-based ticketing operation Veritix has sold its 2 millionth paperless ticket since its '06 launch as Flash Seats, and said it has generated more than $500,000 in new revenue from secondary market ticket fees for its NBA clients -- the Cavaliers, Jazz, Nuggets and Rockets -- since the start of the '09-10 NBA season. The Cavaliers, a sister company of Veritix also owned by team Owner Dan Gilbert, have sold more than $2M in paperless tickets on the secondary market so far this season. "These are all big validations of what we've created, and are numbers we expect to hit again very soon," said Veritix President Jeff Kline (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).

ROSY OUTLOOK: A Portland OREGONIAN editorial stated the city "seems to be on a track that will set a direction for the re-use of Memorial Coliseum." The Trail Blazers, "clearly the most serious and committed player in the Rose Quarter today, have advanced a credible proposal that could result in the rejuvenation of an underused district in the central city." The editorial: "We're a long way from agreeing on a formula, but we're moving in the right direction" (OREGONLIVE.com, 1/9). A PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL editorial states, "The Portland Trail Blazers have the right idea for Veterans Memorial Coliseum. ... Quite simply, their proposal makes good sense" (PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/8 issue).

BLAME GAME: Mets lawyers in documents filed in Manhattan Supreme Court indicated that fan Ellen Massey's injuries suffered on Opening Day '07 at Shea Stadium "were caused in whole or in part or were contributed to by (her) culpable conduct." In N.Y., Dareh Gregorian notes Massey was sitting in the ballpark's upper deck when a  300-pound fan "fell on her from several rows above." The impact "broke one of Massey's vertebrae, and she needed to have two rods put in her back." The "blame-the-victim defense is one of nine offered up by the Mets as to why they aren't liable for Massey's injuries." The team "also points the finger at the stadium's beer vendor and the fan who fell" (N.Y. POST, 1/11).