INDIANAPOLIS ON PACE FOR A NEW ARENA?

     Leaders of an Indianapolis city task force have spent
$160,000 on consultants for a new arena and the city's Capital
Improvement Board authorized another $160,000 for an
architectural firm to study the needs for a new Pacers home,
according to Gerry Lanosga of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS.
Although officials insist it is "not a foregone conclusion"
Market Square Arena will be replaced, the committee "has all but
declared designs for a renovated arena unworkable" and is
expected to make a recommendation for a new facility this summer.
Figures for renovating MSA range from $68.6-$145.7M -- a cost
that improvement board President Patrick Early says is "too high
to justify" -- while the price of a new arena is estimated at
$175M (INDIANAPOLIS STAR NEWS, 5/29).