Facility Notes

In Seattle, Thompson & Miletich report consultant Carl Hirsh, who is advising Seattle officials about on a potential new arena, “met privately with several City Council members over the past few days, sharing financing ideas that include a wholly owned broadcast network.” In meetings Wednesday and Thursday, Hirsh "told council members the wealthy San Francisco hedge-fund manager who wants to build a new arena is seeking to identify possible revenue streams to finance the project." Council members said that revenue to build a Seattle arena and to cover the costs of acquiring NBA and NHL teams “could come from admission taxes from events at the new facility, as well as the development of a lucrative television network” (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/10).

TRAINING DAYS: In DC, Mike Jones noted the Redskins “continue to explore options that would enable them to hold training camp away from Redskins Park for the first time since 2002.” But if they do, it “won’t take place" at George Mason Univ. GMU AD Tom O’Connor said, “We agreed that although the Redskins believe that Mason’s athletic facilities are top notch, and we had all the things they would need from a football standpoint, we wouldn’t be able to meet the requirements to accommodate the media and fans at this time.” The Redskins looked into holding camp at GMU “last offseason, but the uncertainty of the NFL lockout hindered the team’s ability to plan for specific dates, and the talks with O’Connor and the university didn’t progress very far” (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/8).

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY: In Austin, John Maher reports recent rains “have pushed back the construction schedule at the Circuit of the Americas” F1 track. Austin Commercial Senior Superintendent Scott Kahler, “anticipating drier weather, expects lost time on the $300 million project to be made up in the coming months.” As for the track itself, Kahler estimated that 85% of the excavation “has been completed” (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2/10).

RED FLAGGED: In Charlotte, Erik Spanberg reported deficits at the NASCAR HOF “are twice as high as anticipated through the first half of the current fiscal year.” For the six months covering July through December, the HOF “posted a deficit of $440,000, compared with the budgeted figure of $205,000.” In December, the most recent month of financial data available, losses were “slightly higher than expected, with an actual deficit of $172,000, compared with the anticipated $149,000” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/8).