A new Charlotte basketball arena would cost "around"
$200M and "should be built uptown," according to a draft
report written by city staff members (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,
11/25)....The city of Orlando "tentatively has agreed" to
allow the Magic to sell the naming rights to the Orlando
Arena. Possibilities of buyers "might include" NationsBank
(now Bank of America), First Union, Amway or "any of the
major tourist attractions." The city could receive a
"yearly cut" of $200,000-700,000 (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/25).
...The Nassau County legislature's rules committee voted in
favor of hiring Merrill Lynch's Stadium & Sports Franchise
Group to review financial proposals on building a new arena
for the Islanders. The county will pay the finance group
$60,000 for its services (NEWSDAY, 11/25)....Eastern MI
Univ. will play its first regular-season men's basketball
game at the new $29.6M, 8,824-seat Convocation Center
tonight (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/25)....The Metropolitan
Planning Organization unanimously voted to spend $700,000 on
traffic improvements around the new American Airlines Arena
and $34,800 on a shuttle bus study (MIAMI HERALD, 11/25).