The plight of the Carolina Panthers tickets sales is the
focus of Tom Sorensen's column in today's CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. As
of today, Panther fans will fill an average of about 47,000 of
the 76,000 seats at Clemson's Memorial Stadium. Sorensen
speculates the team could sell as many as 10,000 individual seats
this week on the heels of their win Saturday over the Jaguars,
but that they need another strong performance in exhibition or
the regular season to get a "jolt" in tickets sales (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 7/31).... Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner sympathizes
with the Twins' "bad stadium lease" and says he could guarantee
enough votes from fellow owners to allow Twins Owner Carl Pohlad
to move the team. But the Twins owner said he has no plans to
move his franchise (Sid Hartman, Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE,
7/31)....Atlanta-based Hope-Beckham, which works as "senior
advisors" to Virginia Baseball Club Inc., the group trying to
bring an MLB team to Northern VA, is profiled in the ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION. Hope-Beckham Co-Chair Bob Hope said at a meeting
in VA last week, "the consensus was within six months a team will
move. I am not sure baseball wants that to happen, but you have
financial conditions of some teams pushing it to happen" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 7/30).... Arena Football Commissioner Jim Drucker
said that regardless of who buys the for-sale Miami Hooters,
Miami Arena will have an AFL team next season (MIAMI HERALD,
7/29).
