Yankee Stadium "will remain closed for another week so
workers can repair concrete that was in danger of crumbling
from the 75-year-old ballpark's facade," according to David
Halbfinger of the N.Y. TIMES. NYC officials "vowed that all
repair work would be done by Wednesday." Inspectors said
that the "most troubling discovery so far" was a slab of
concrete that had begun to come loose from the underside of
the upper deck, which could have "crashed through the
ceiling of the loge level to the seats below," much like the
500-pound expansion joint did on Monday (N.Y. TIMES, 4/16).
BY GEORGE? Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner said he
felt "no pressure" to make a decision a new facility: "I
think we'll see a decision in 1998" (Newark STAR-LEDGER,
4/16). In N.Y., Randy Kennedy writes under the header,
"Suspicious New Yorkers Cultivate Steinbrenner Conspiracy
Theories." Since Monday, talk-radio switchboards "lit up
with speculation" that Steinbrenner "was somehow behind the
mishap, maybe even crouched in the rafters himself with a
flashlight and a screwdriver." On Comedy Central's "The
Daily Show," host Craig Kilborn: "Mr. Steinbrenner was
unavailable for comment, however, because he was at Sears
returning a blowtorch and a hacksaw." Steinbrenner
spokesperson Howard Rubenstein: "George doesn't have a
mechanic's license. He doesn't even have a rigger's license
to get up where this thing was" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/16).
