The Canadiens are offering fans an opportunity to buy actual
seats from The Forum before the team auctions off the penalty
boxes, players' benches and the Stanley Cup banners. Montreal's
new Molson Centre opens March 16 (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 1/31)....A
Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE editorial belittles the idea that
"outstate" MN residents should be allowed to vote on hospitality
and stadium ticket taxes designed to help finance a new stadium
for the Twins. The STAR TRIB: "What about people from other
parts of the country, who might also at some point find
themselves in the Twin Cities?" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE,
1/31)....The board overseeing creation of a $320M Mariners
ballpark has cleared the way for contract negotiations for the
stadium's design with the Seattle firm NBBJ. NBBJ, which has
been involved in designing Atlanta's Olympic Stadium and the
retractable-roofed ballpark in Phoenix, beat out K.C.-based HOK
and Ellerbe Becket (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 1/31)....If S.F. voters
approve the Giants' China Basin ballpark on March 26, "the team
must slog for two years through a regulatory bog" before starting
construction. The cost to clean up the site could rise well over
$5M (S.F. EXAMINER, 1/31).
