The CP's Jonathan Montpetit reported the Canadian government is "quashing speculation it might use gas-tax revenues to help cities build hockey arenas." Under current guidelines, gas-tax money "cannot be used to build arenas or other sports facilities," and Infrastructure Minister Chuck Strahl Friday said, "We have no plans to change that criteria." Strahl's announcement came "one day after Quebec City announced plans to build a new NHL-style arena -- with or without federal help." That "doesn't mean Ottawa is completely slamming the door on funding the Quebec arena through some other mechanism." A spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office explained that Strahl's comments "apply only" to the gas tax (CP, 2/11).
LOOKING FOR MORE TIME: In Houston, Chris Moran reported the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority "has asked for more time and lower installments to pay back a county loan used for the Texans' practice facility and additional parking around Reliant Stadium." The debt "goes back 10 years, to when the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. -- the county's landlord for Reliant Park -- borrowed $19.1 million from Texans owner Robert McNair to buy the land for the practice field and parking spaces." The Sports Authority "agreed to back up the corporation with loan payments -- if it had money left over from stadium and ballpark debt payments." When the McNair loan "came due five years later, neither the corporation nor the authority had the money" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/12).
DON'T MAKE A SCENE: U.K. Athletics Chair Ed Warner has warned that threats by Tottenham Hotspur to "take legal action" over the Olympic Park Legacy Company's decision to award West Ham United the rights to London's Olympic Stadium after the '12 Games "could prevent the country from bidding to host the 2017 World Championships." In London, Simon Hart noted Tottenham is "considering whether to seek a judicial review of Friday's decision." But with the deadline "looming next month for expressions of interest in hosting" the '17 World Championships, Warner said that a "protracted legal wrangle would make it impossible for the country to bid" (London TELEGRAPH, 2/13).
