In Milwaukee, Don Walker reports the Packers "will move ahead with installation of a new sound system at Lambeau Field but have put off for a year a plan for new video boards." Work on the new sound system "will begin May 9 and should be completed by mid-July" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/28).
NEW PRIORITIES: Escondido (Calif.) Mayor Sam Abed has said that the city "should put a proposed minor league ballpark on the back burner because of uncertainty about the fate of redevelopment revenue, but city officials say they haven't stopped pursuing the project." Abed this week said that he "wants city officials to focus instead on creating a technology business park on the 15 acres of city land that have been earmarked for the ballpark." He added that his strategy "wouldn't necessarily kill the ballpark because efforts to prepare the site for a business park would partly overlap with preparing it for a ballpark, allowing the project to be revived if prospects improve in Sacramento" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 4/28).
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS: In Virginia, Deirdre Fernandes reported a "private proposal for an agreement to build a 22,000-seat arena" near the Virginia Beach Convention Center was "nixed by the city Tuesday afternoon." City Manager Jim Spore "issued a letter saying that the plan had been reviewed," but that the city "could not offer financial backing to the project, saying he was concerned about potential financial impact on the city." Earlier Tuesday, Drakkar America CEO Eric Aulabaugh, whose company was behind the arena proposal, said that Drakkar "hopes to bring professional basketball and hockey teams to the arena, but that it could still make money hosting regional tournaments or concerts" (Norfolk VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 4/27).
