The AP's Jenna Fryer reported Texas Motor Speedway "won't sell tickets on the backstretch for its two NASCAR Sprint Cup races next year." TMS officials said that part of the reason for that decision "is the scheduled debut in April of a new high-definition video board being built in the middle of the backstretch at the 1½-mile track." The nearly 10,000 backstretch seats were "unused for other races" (AP, 11/25).
LOOKING FOR LAND: In Detroit, Louis Aguilar cites a city document as showing that the Ilitch family, which owns the Red Wings, has paid at least $48M "in land deals and own nearly half of the 45-block area" where the team's new arena and entertainment district are planned. It is the "first time a price has been revealed in the years-long acquisition of property by Olympia Development of Michigan." It also is the "first time Olympia has divulged how much land it has bought." The property includes "everything from blighted buildings and parking lots to historical buildings Olympia has bought and let sit idle for years" (DETROIT NEWS, 11/26).
BUYING THE BAGGIE: The AP noted several auction bidders "are bringing the Metrodome's old right-field wall home after paying a combined $3,025 for pieces of the 'Baggie.'" A pair of 16-foot-high, 190-foot-long sections of the "famed fence sold during an online auction" that concluded yesterday. Several stadium features "are being auctioned off, with demolition looming next year" (AP, 11/25).
