A CIVIC AGREEMENT: The Portland (OR) City Council
"unanimously approved a preliminary agreement" last week
that would allow Portland Family Entertainment (PFE) -- led
by Marshall Glickman -- to take over operations of Civic
Stadium in 2001. The 20-year deal "calls for PFE to pay
$908,000 in rent, escalating annually." Mayor Vera Katz
emphasized the agreement "is not a done deal," as PFE must
meet a set of deadlines, which includes providing a "written
commitment" for $6M by July 31, producing an option to buy
an A League soccer team by September 1, setting up an option
to buy a Triple A baseball team by October 1, and completing
both franchise acquisitions by December 31 (OREGONIAN, 7/8).
FANS FOR NEW FENWAY: A BOSTON GLOBE editorial, on the
Red Sox' pursuit of a new ballpark: "As it stands now, a new
ballpark makes more sense than trying to renovate the old,
but traffic and other community concerns as well as the
design of the park and, above all, the cost to the taxpayer
must be addressed first" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/10). Historian
Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote on Op-Ed on Saturday in the
BOSTON GLOBE stating that she is an "enthusiastic supporter"
of the new ballpark plans (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/10).
MORE NOTES: St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman said that he
and Twins manager Tom Kelly "will be campaigning for a
ballpark in downtown St. Paul" (PIONEER PRESS, 7/11)....A
Bergen RECORD editorial states that the Nets and Devils
should remain in a renovated Medowlands: "Keeping the teams
in the East Rutherford sports complex is the best approach
[as a] new arena in the Meadowlands would uproot no one,
cause minimal traffic disruptions, and cement the sports
complex's reputation as the top sports destination in the
nation" (Bergen RECORD, 7/11).
