In San Diego, Kevin Acee reported Padres Exec Chair Ron Fowler last week spoke to local business and sports leaders and "implored them to be part of an effort to make sure a football stadium gets built" in the city. Fowler said of Chargers Chair & President Dean Spanos' quest to land a new stadium, "If I’d have been in Dean’s position, I would have left." Acee wrote, That is "some kind of resounding statement." Fowler added, "It will be too big a blow to the city to lose (the Chargers). Having a major-league franchise at the highest level -- basketball, football, baseball -- adds to the prestige of the city. To lose it would be extremely bad for the city. ... If we wait until Dean comes to us with an offer from another city, in my mind, they’re gone" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/27).
FALCONS' LAIR: In Atlanta, Tim Tucker cited architectural plans for the Falcons' new stadium, which showed that there are "several features not previously reported, including suites at field level behind both end zones." Designs call for 71,041 seats, plus "several other areas where seating can be added for mega-events such as the Super Bowl." The plan as expected "includes specifications that suggest" an MLS team is in the city’s future (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 10/26). Meanwhile, CSN Bay Area's Kate Longworth said of the design for the stadium, "You almost need a protractor to go through these angular designs. We've heard of a retractable roof, normally that roof just goes over the field. Not so much here." She added, "I'm not sure who's behind the designs for this … but perhaps they got a little confused and were thinking the Falcons weren't a football team and he thought they were real-life falcons in there and he wanted to let them be free." CSN Bay Area's Brodie Brazil said, "It looks like the Atlanta Museum of Modern Art. This does not look like a football stadium" ("Yahoo Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 10/25).
ALTERING THE HALL: In Green Bay, Richard Ryman reported the Packers' HOF "will close next month to make way for construction." The facility "will be moved to make way for a new Packers Pro Shop, on what will become the atrium’s new ground floor when part of the plaza north of the atrium is cut away." The $140.5M project, "paid for by the Packers without public money, began in March and is scheduled to be completed" in June '15. The atrium "will remain open for events throughout construction, with the Oneida Nation Gate being used for the main entrance." The Packers HOF "will lend some of its items to the Neville Public Museum until it reopens" in April '15 (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 10/26).
