In Tampa, Marc Topkin notes Rays President Brian Auld on his first full day on the job was "openly hopeful about what is likely to be the most daunting challenge of his tenure: getting a deal in place" for a new ballpark. Auld: "I'm optimistic. I think that things are going very well with (St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman). I think we're having productive talks." Topkin notes Auld will "assume the lead role in those talks, which had been handled most recently" by new President/Baseball Operations President Matt Silverman, who "took over" after Tuesday's departure of new Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. Auld said that in his previous role as Senior VP/Business Operations, he had "'ridden sidecar' on the stadium issue and felt he was 'up to speed'" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 10/17).
GIANT COSTS: In S.F., Kurtis Alexander noted parking rates around AT&T Park during the NLCS were "as high as $150." The Giants also "raised the price of parking at the team’s four lots, which have roughly 3,000 spaces." Normally $35 a game, the rate "increased to $40" for last week’s NLDS and to $45 for this week’s NLCS. The team "cited a need to cover additional staffing costs." Giants VP/Public Affairs & Community Relations Shana Daum said, “We’re still a real bargain compared to everybody else right now" (SFGATE.com, 10/16).
DOWN TO THE WIRE: In Raleigh, Lauren Ohnesorge cited data from AT&T that shows attendees during the Hurricanes' opening night at PNC Arena "used 107 gigabytes" of wireless data. That is "equivalent to more than 305,000 social media posts with photos" -- a 197% "increase in traffic when comparing total data usage compared to last year’s opener." Across the country, mobile data usage was "up more than" 76% from opening games last year (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/16).
