Facility Notes
In San Diego, Matthew Hall noted in a "sign of progress" for a new Chargers stadium in Escondido, California, attorney Dave Ferguson is "setting up meetings with developers to ask them how they might privately finance a new stadium" in the city "via ancillary development, such as retail or office space." The first meeting was held September 28, and a meeting with another developer is planned for this week. The meetings involve Ferguson, Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani. Hall noted even if a stadium in Escondido "pencils out, its success hinges on a number of landowners in the area being willing to unload parcels at affordable prices" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/11).
MONUMENTAL TRIBUTE: In Montreal, Anne Sutherland reported the Canadiens Friday, as part of their centennial celebration, unveiled a "large black granite monument inscribed with the names of every" Canadiens player who has played for the team between 1909 and 2009. The monument "sits in the middle of Centennial Plaza, the large area west of the Bell Centre," and surrounding it are 100 interpretations of the Canadiens logo "embedded in bricks and drawn by Montreal kids." The team Friday also unveiled a "new street marker, proclaiming that a stretch of de la Gauchetière St. is officially known as Avenue des Canadiens de Montreal," which "meets up with Stanley St." (Montreal GAZETTE, 10/10).
OFF KEY: The GLOBE & MAIL's Marc Schatzker wrote the song "Free To Be," which is being played before Maple Leafs games as part of the "revamped 'game-day experience' down at the Air Canada Centre," is "weird and obnoxious." Schatzker: "What was MLSE thinking? ... MLSE can do better. I know this to be true because they already have. It's called a Raptors game." Meanwhile, Schatzker estimated the number of corporate logos at the stadium during Maple Leafs games is "in the hundreds, and that's not including the beyond gratuitous promos: the Metro Food Frenzy, the Pro Line Shoot for Loot, the Molson Canadian Best Seats in the House, or the 407 ETR Forward Pass" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/10).
COST CUTS: In Indianapolis, Francesca Jarosz reported five Indiana Convention Center and four Lucas Oil Stadium employees were "laid off Friday as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures by the struggling" Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board. The move is "expected to save about $325,000" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/10).
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