In Oklahoma City, William Crum notes the Thunder's new court is just one of the $2.4M worth of upgrades fans will "notice this season" at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City Special Projects Manager Tom Anderson said that suites are "being reconfigured," with each one getting a "few new seats and the layout will be more functional." Club-level carpet will be replaced, and new videoboards are being "added to the arena bowl at a cost of $500,000," which is about "$400,000 below projections" (OKLAHOMAN, 7/31).
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: In Jacksonville, Drew Dixon noted renderings of what the Shipyards property in downtown Jacksonville could look like have "created a stir that something might be progressing with the property soon." But Jaguars Senior VP/Communications Dan Edwards said that team Owner Shahid Khan is a "long way from making any decision concerning the property." Dixon noted Khan "first expressed his interest" in developing the riverfront property near EverBank Field last year. Khan spokesperson Jim Woodcock in an e-mail Tuesday wrote that the renderings unveiled "were unsolicited" (JACKSONVILLE.com, 7/29).
OF MINOR CONCERN: West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio yesterday said that three firms have made "unsolicited bids" for a tract of land in the city that is a "prime candidate" for a Spring Training site. In West Palm Beach, Eliot Kleinberg reports Astros and Nationals reps are "focusing their pursuit" of a shared complex on the tract. Muoio said that of the three non-baseball suitors, one is "interested in buying the parcel outright and the other two envision a lease-buy arrangement" (PALM BEACH POST, 7/31).
