In S.F., Michael Cabanatuan notes a group of 20 scientists from the Univ. of California-S.F. sent a letter to Mayor Ed Lee voicing "familiar concerns" that the Warrriors' new arena "will make Mission Bay less alluring to biotech researchers and that it will create a traffic mess that endangers people needing to get to the three UCSF hospitals nearby." The Warriors’ plan to build an 18,500-seat arena hosting perhaps 200 events a year across the street from UCSF "has the support of City Hall, many Warriors’ fans and, conditionally, UCSF’s top leaders." But it is "opposed by the Mission Bay Alliance, a group that includes prominent donors to the university." The group has "enlisted high-powered lawyers and vowed to tie up the arena plan in court" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/24).
NEW ACCOMMODATIONS: In Minneapolis, Nick Halter noted the Vikings will "install breastfeeding pods" at TCF Bank Stadium and are planning lactation suites at U.S. Bank Stadium, their new downtown stadium in Minneapolis. The club said that it is the "first NFL team to offer the lactation suites to nursing mothers." The pods "will be available" Oct. 18 against the Chiefs. Vikings Exec Dir of Communications Jeff Anderson said that the team is "exploring the possibility of full nursing rooms with couches and TVs" at the new stadium (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/22).
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT: Some airline pilots said that powerful lights above and around the new Levi’s Stadium "can cause safety hazards" for flights in and out of San Jose Mineta Int'l Airport. Commercial pilot Christina Kurowicki said, "It was blinding. Incapacitating for sure.” NBCBAYAREA.com's Stock, Bott & Carroll noted Kurowicki and her captain each "filed a report with the FAA." An investigation "uncovered at least five other instances of pilots complaining about Levi’s lights." The FAA "concedes it has not required that the stadium adjust its lights or change the intensity of the scoreboard" (NBCBAYAREA.com, 9/21).
