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| AEG Last Week Revealed Architectural Renderings
From Three Competing Design Firms |
YAHOO SPORTS' Jason Cole reported as impressive as AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke's "resume may be in the sports and entertainment business, NFL types are beginning to wonder if he knows what he's doing" in regard to the proposed downtown L.A. football stadium. Leiweke "essentially gave the league and some yet-to-be identified team a three-month deadline two weeks ago to move there." Sources said that AEG Chair Phil Anschutz "personally told" Majestic Realty Chair & CEO Ed Roski, who has a competing stadium proposal in City of Industry, that he is "not part of Leiweke's downtown stadium idea." That "has made some people wonder if Leiweke's seemingly impossible deadline to get such a complicated deal done is just a way of backing out." One NFL owner said, "It's good to dream. But there's a difference between dreaming and hallucinating" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/21).
GETTING THEIR KICKS: In Baltimore, Raven Hill reports a Baltimore Development Corp. feasibility study released Wednesday indicated that a soccer-specific stadium in the city's Westport neighborhood "could generate up to 940 new jobs and $2.8 million in city tax revenue." The study, commissioned by the Maryland Stadium Authority, "analyzed two potential scenarios -- a 25,000-seat stadium in Westport" for MLS DC United and a 10,000-seat stadium for Crystal Palace Baltimore "in the Carroll-Camden complex south of M&T Bank Stadium." United officials "have held preliminary talks with the city about a possible move to Baltimore but won't enter 'formal' discussions until a commitment is given about a facility" (Baltimore SUN, 12/23).
MOVING FORWARD: In San Jose, Burt & Maher reported the Oakland City Council "voted Tuesday to spend as much as $750,000 on an environmental study for a new ballpark," even though A's Owner Lew Wolff is "trying to move the team to San Jose." The council "voted 6-2 to hire LSA Associates to conduct a study that examines the physical and environmental impacts of building a 39,000-seat, baseball-only stadium" in the city. Redevelopment funds that were "earmarked for a new parking garage in the city's bustling uptown entertainment district will be used to pay for the report" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 12/22).
BUDGET CUTS: In Charlotte, Erik Spanberg reported the NASCAR HOF "took a large step Tuesday afternoon toward cutting nearly one-third of its current operating budget." The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority budget committee "recommended a $4.8 million cut to the $15.3 million operating budget, a reduction of 31%." The CRVA BOD next month "will vote on the budget changes." No jobs "will be cut as part of the reduced budget" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/22).
