MA House Speaker Thomas Finneran has named former BOSTON
HERALD sports business reporter Phil Primack as a policy aide.
The appointment of Primack, "who wrote extensively on casinos and
the megaplex, was greeted with a gulp from insiders with a stake
in those issues" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/26)....Redskin Owner Jack Kent
Cooke said he will officially break ground for his new 78,600-
seat stadium in June (WASHINGTON TIMES, 5/25)....In an article
detailing the boom of new sports stadiums, Dan McGraw of U.S.
NEWS & WORLD REPORT writes that $7B has been spent or committed
in the past three years to build or renovate 30 major sports
facilities in America. McGraw warns, however, that if the
"supply of big-revenue-producing luxury suites" outstrips demand,
the "stadium boom could go bust" (U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT,
6/3)....Jack Wilson, head of The Greater Tampa Chamber of
Commerce, has begun working with the Arlington, VA-based Public
Opinion Strategies to help "combat ... areas of voter anger" over
proposed sales tax increases to help fund a new stadium for the
Bucs (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 5/27).... Canlan Investment Corp. has
announced plans to build an arena containing four NHL-sized ice
pads in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke (Toronto GLOBE AND MAIL,
5/25)....In an article on numerous price hikes at Madison Square
Garden, the N.Y. POST's Li & Francescani write, "MSG is slam-
dunking New York Sports fans ... everyone from high-roller
luxury-suite holders to the average Joe" (N.Y. POST, 5/26).
