The Hillsborough County Commission voted 5-2 yesterday to
accept a deal that would keep the Bucs in Tampa, but they added
11 "major" changes that leave negotiators "without a mediator or
much hope the team will stay," according to this morning's TAMPA
TRIBUNE. Stadium supporters were doubtful the Bucs would accept
the amendments, and in a short statement, the team would only say
they were "very disappointed in the county commission's
rejection." The NFL, which had served as mediator for the past
month, opted out of talks, with NFL President Neil Austrian
saying the commission's action gives the Bucs "a reason to leave
Tampa after next season." Austrian, who had spent the past two
days in Tampa pushing for the deal, said he would tell the NFL's
other 29 owners the Bucs have met all the league's relocation
requirements. Austrian: "In good conscience, they have done
everything they could." The next steps are unclear, as the Tampa
City Council has cancelled a vote on the deal set for today (Jim
Kenyon, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 3/28).
AT ISSUE: The Commission did not want management rights to
the facility automatically go to Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer in
2001, preferring a vote three years after completion on control.
They also wanted the right to approve the new stadium's name,
requiring that it meet "community standards" (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
3/28). The ORLANDO SENTINEL reports Glazer, who holds 73% of
outstanding stock in Houlihan's Restaurant Group, already had a
5-year, $10M deal giving Houlihan's naming rights to Tampa
Stadium (Charean Williams, ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/28).
