BALTIMORE SETS SIGHTS ON NEW ARENA, NBA EXPANSION TEAM

          Baltimore city leaders "are moving closer to picking a
     new site" for a proposed 20,000-seat arena "that could be
     home to a professional basketball or hockey team," according
     to Robert Matthews of the Baltimore SUN.  Next month,
     Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke will be presented with a list
     of potential sites around the city.  Schmoke said funding
     for the proposed $200M arena would come from state, city and
     private funds, but that "no money has been allotted." 
     Matthews reports that while "no formal effort is being made"
     to get an NBA team for Baltimore, Baltimore Development
     Corp. President M.J. Brodie "said the city will seek an
     expansion team" (Baltimore SUN, 12/12).