In St. Paul, John Shipley notes Minnesota State Rep. Mike Freiberg yesterday introduced legislation that "would ban the use of tobacco" at Target Field and CHS Field, home to the independent St. Paul Saints. Freiberg’s legislation "would prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco products at all professional sports stadiums in Minnesota." With only "one week to go in this year’s legislative session and big spending issues unresolved, the smokeless tobacco ban faces long odds of passing this year" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 5/17).
QUICK TURNAROUND: In Jacksonville, Garry Smits notes the uprooting of the 12th green of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is "only the first step in a series of enhancements that will be made to the course, practice facility and infrastructure" before the '17 Players Championship. The practice facility "will be revamped with more 'target greens,' actual putting surfaces with similar slope and speed to the tournament greens." The players-only side of the practice facility "will have more 'wedge greens' for shots of between 50-to-100 yards." In addition, the building on the back of the facility "will be re-designed as a players lounge with a patio and outdoor seating" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/17).
POSITIVE STATE: Colorado State AD Joe Parker yesterday said construction of the school's on-campus football stadium is “on time and on budget.” In Colorado, Kelly Lyell notes the $220M stadium and adjacent $18M academic space "is scheduled to open in time" for the '17 football season. Officials said that the stadium "will have 36,000 seats and total capacity of 41,000" (Ft. Collins COLORADOAN, 5/17).
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: NBA Kings officials said that Golden 1 Center's high-tech features "make it an ideal venue" for e-sports. They said that they are "trying to appeal to millennials, and millennials play -- and watch -- video games." Kings President & COO Chris Granger said, "I’m not sure there’s any arena in the country that’s more tailor-made for eSports than Golden 1 Center." In Sacramento, Jessica Hice noted "no particular events have been lined up yet" (SACBEE.com, 5/14).
