FEELING THE SQUEEZE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sam
Walker writes on the size of new arena seats and says that
"many sports patrons are being stuffed into chairs that are
about as wide as a computer keyboard, or the average coach-
class airplane seat." Walker says that "it's only getting
worse," as the new Philips Arena will feature seats "that
could be as narrow as 18 inches in some places." Boston's
FleetCenter has some seats with "just 31 inches of legroom,
almost five inches less than typical movie-theater chairs."
But Walker writes that some teams have "resisted the seat
crunch entirely," as the Pacers and Heat will provide more
leg room in their new arenas (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/26).
STILL GOING: In Boston, Lehigh & Phillips profile MA
House Speaker Tom Finneran. As a "man who prides himself on
his economic understanding," he "misunderstood NFL supply
and demand." Lehigh & Phillips: "Like it or not, pro
football is an owners' market" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/26)...In St.
Paul, Charley Walters: "Although the Vikings deny it, word
is they are discussing a proposal of a three-year, $750,000
minimum naming-rights deal for the Metrodome plaza area in
front of the stadium," with the team "collecting most of the
revenue." The Twins and Univ. of MN would "share small
portions" (PIONEER PRESS, 3/26)....In Raleigh, Ned Glascock
writes that some NC State Univ. students are "waging a
campuswide campaign" to have the school's new $158M arena
named after former basketball coach Jim Valvano (NEWS &
OBSERVER, 3/26)....In Las Vegas, Mark Anderson writes that
Sam Boyd Stadium, home to UNLV football, is "trying to land
an NFL exhibition game in 2000" (L.V. REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/26).
