Facility Notes
The Indians yesterday unveiled a Party Deck picnic area in right field and a Champions Suite in left field at the newly named Progressive Field. The Party Deck holds "about 400 people" and can be rented for group outings at $50 per person. The Champions Suite, which costs $10,000 to rent per game, is comprised of four suites converted into one "high-end area, with indoor and outdoor seating for 60" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 3/26).
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: The CFL Toronto Argonauts, who play indoors at the Rogers Centre, "might get the outdoor stadium they've been searching for after all.'' Toronto Mayor David Miller yesterday said that he recently met with Argonauts co-Owner Howard Sokolowski and that it is "possible the team could be accommodated at BMO Field at Exhibition Place." BMO Field is configured for MLS' Toronto FC and "would not accommodate a regulation-sized CFL field," but Sokolowski said that "allowances might be made for a pre-season game." The Argos are entering the fifth year of their rental agreement with the Rogers Centre, which includes two additional five-year options (TORONTO STAR, 3/26).
PARKING PLUS: The Cowboys have added another parking lot for their new $1.1B Arlington stadium. Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has "purchased more than a dozen parcels within walking distance of the stadium" from Blue Star Development Dir of Stadium Development Jud Heflin. The Tarrant Appraisal District said the land in '07 was valued at about $3.6M (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/26).
SHORTCUT: The Univ. of Oregon (UO) "plans to use a month-old rule to bypass the state's typical search process so a private firm can hire the architects and builder" who already have been working on the school's new basketball arena. UO General Counsel Melinda Grier said that hiring the firms without an open competition "would save money and promote continuity in planning and construction" of the $200M on-campus arena (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/22).
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