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A PERZEL TWIST: PA HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER CREATES NEW PLAN

          PA House Majority Leader John Perzel said yesterday
     that there "just isn't sufficient support in his chamber" to
     win approval for Gov. Tom Ridge's stadium-financing
     proposal, according to Shelly & Barnes of the PITTSBURGH
     POST-GAZETTE.  Perzel: "I can't do it for what the governor
     wants.  I've had members come in, literally in tears, saying
     that they don't want to vote for this."  Ridge's proposal
     calls for PA to raise its debt ceiling to $650M, with $320M
     going toward the cost of four new stadiums.  Perzel did say
     that House lawmakers "might be willing to support loaning
     the money" to the teams, though details of his plan
     "remained sketchy."  Steelers VP Art Rooney: "I am not
     familiar with any other NFL deals where the state provided
     its share of the money as a loan, rather than an outright
     grant" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/28).  Perzel's $320M
     interest-free loan proposal would "require each team to
     repay nearly" $2.7M per year over 30 years, which "could be
     paid for by adding $1 to the price" of a ticket.  Gov. Ridge
     spokesperson Tim Reeves "acknowledged" that the governor
     "could consider such a plan," but "warned that the ultimate
     test ... was whether the teams could live with it."  Eagles
     Exec VP Joe Banner said that Perzel's plan would be
     "unacceptable" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/28).  
          NO TIME TO WASTE: In Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik writes that
     the future of the Pirates depends on Plan B being passed:
     "There's not enough time for anything other than Plan B. 
     What the politicians have to understand is a vote against
     Plan B is a vote against baseball" (POST-GAZETTE, 1/28).  

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