Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher said that plans to build a standalone football facility are "now in the works, and he hopes to have plans to show boosters when his spring speaking tour begins next month." Fisher: "We need room. We need meeting space, player development areas. You’ve got to have those areas and also to show off your history. That’s what Florida State is known for, being a great football program. ... We’re always looking for that edge. It’s going to help recruiting. It’s going to help player development. We get a lot of guys that are three-and-out, so we’ve got to have space for them to get them developed as quickly as we can so we can get production out of them." Fisher said that an architect has "already come by to start looking at drawing up plans" (ESPN.com, 3/24).
TASTE OF THE TIGER: LSU officials confirmed that plans for a beer garden inside Tiger Stadium are "firming up, though the deal hasn’t been finalized yet." LSU Dir of Media Relations Ernie Ballard said, "We are aggressively working to have it in place in the fall. But we are still working through everything to make it happen." In Baton Rouge, Stephanie Riegel noted LSU AD Joe Alleva for years has said that he would "like to bring beer sales to Tiger Stadium." The SEC "prohibits its 14 member schools from selling alcohol at athletic events." University officials are "trying to determine where in the stadium it should be located." Ballard said that it will be "somewhere below the club and suite levels" (BUSINESSREPORT.com, 3/28).
HOUSE OF CARDS: In Louisville, Tom Loftus reported the Kentucky House and Senate have "yet to reach agreement on the bill intended to stabilize the financing of the KFC Yum Center." The House has "passed a bill that extends the life of the tax rebate program intended to generate the money to pay off the arena bonds." But the Senate budget committee "changed the bill to limit state government’s financial exposure and lock in specific required payments" from the Univ. of Louisville and the city (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 3/28).
