CARDINALS WAITING FOR MAYOR TO ACT ON NEW BALLPARK PLANS

          Responding to critics who say the city is "moving too
     slowly" on plans for a new $370M Cardinals ballpark, St.
     Louis Mayor Clarence Harmon said yesterday that the team has
     not "provided enough financial information" to the city
     about the plan, according to Schlinkmann & Stern of the ST.
     LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.  Harmon: "We have to be responsible ...
     and not be pushed into an artificial timeline."  However,
     Harmon "stopped short" of saying that "it's impossible to
     meet the Cardinals' goal of submitting a city-backed plan"
     to the MO Legislature next month.  The team wants state and
     local taxpayers to contribute $250M to the project.  They
     also want developers to build an office, retail and housing
     complex next to the ballpark (see THE DAILY 12/18).  After
     "months of closed-door talks" with the city, the team was
     "expecting a definitive response" to their proposal by the
     end of this month.  Cardinals President Mark Lamping said,
     "We're confused" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/21).