In Tampa, Hillsborough County commissioners approved a
loan to continue building a "scaled down" version of a new
football stadium in case the Bucs' lease is overturned later
this year by the FL Supreme Court. Former Mayor Bill Poe's
challenge has kept officials from selling $204.5M in
construction bonds, making a $9.7M loan necessary to
continue stadium construction through July (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
4/17)....A MN House subcommittee approved a bill that
authorizes the state to buy the Twins for as much as $100M.
Also, the MN Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal
Policy will pay the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche
$38,500 over the next month to analyze proposals for the
legislature on the Twins issue. Deloitte & Touche was
selected over a new consulting firm, the Sports Economics
and Facility Financing Group, made up of Smith College
baseball economist Andrew Zimbalist, IU Urban Economist Mark
Rosentraub and Congressional Research Service Tax Economist
Dennis Zimmerman (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/17)....In AZ,
the state Senate approved a bill allowing two or more
municipalities to develop stadium districts, which then
could ask voters to approve a sales tax to fund a sports
complex for the Cardinals. The bill also repeals a law that
allowed Maricopa County to levy a sales tax to build the
Bank One Ballpark without voter approval. The bill now goes
to the House (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/17)....The Tostitos Fiesta
Bowl and ASU agreed on a new lease to keep the game at Sun
Devil Stadium for at least the next ten years. The lease is
subject to approval by the AZ Board of Regents (ARIZONA
REPUBLIC, 4/17).
