Facility Notes

An L.A. TIMES editorial regarding AEG's proposed Farmers Field states, "This is a sound project with clear public benefits, and it should go forward. The city agencies, meanwhile, should use these final talks to ensure that the public interest is maximally protected." The project "will benefit the entire city" and "create jobs during construction and afterward." However, it will "impose burdens on those who live and work nearby." The editorial: "A stadium necessarily brings some inconveniences. Ask those who live near the Rose Bowl or the Los Angeles Coliseum. That's not a reason to say no. It is, however, an opportunity to think creatively about what those inconveniences might look like and how the city might address them" (L.A. TIMES, 9/10).

SECRET RECIPE: In Louisville, Marcus Green wrote, "The cash-strapped agency that oversees the KFC Yum! Center may have a windfall of millions of dollars that could help forestall the need to dig further into city funds to make debt payments." Louisville Arena Authority officials said that they "are considering selling a package of securities that financial statements show increased in value by $5 million last year." The authority’s guaranteed investment contracts provide it a fixed rate of return of 4.7% annually -- "more than $740,000." KFC Yum! Center financial statements indicate that the securities were worth $22.6M at the end of last year, up from $17.6M the year before (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 9/9).

FROG IS A PRINCE: In Ft. Worth, Brent Shirley wrote of the unveiling of TCU's renovated Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, "The primary reactions were awe and pride." The "wide concourses with open views of the field from multiple angles are a big hit with the fans." Shirley: "Larger, nicer bathrooms are another upgrade over the old stadium as well as last year's long lines at portable toilets." Most of the TCU fans "showed up early enough to tailgate and avoid heavy traffic." Some fans "experienced minor delays, but nothing worse than past years" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/9).

REMEMBER THE ALAMO: In San Antonio, John Whisler noted Saturday's crowd of 33,006 for the Univ. of Texas-San Antonio's home game against Texas Tech "was a Bobcat Stadium record." The facility recently underwent a $33M expansion "in which about 13,000 seats were added." Also, 3,000 bleacher seats "in the south end zone were added only for the Texas Tech game." The old attendance mark "was 16,600 against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Nov. 21, 1981, the year Bobcat Stadium opened" (MYSANANTONIO.com, 9/8).