In Dallas, Mike Heika cited a Stars source as saying a Forbes report claiming the NHL team is losing up $1M per week is "unequivocally untrue." Heika: “From all I can tell, the Stars are paying their bills on time and aren’t bouncing any checks. They received approval from the lenders and the NHL to up their payroll by $5 million for next season. They don’t seem in jeopardy of shutting down” (DALLASNEWS.com, 7/19). In the original report, FORBES.com’s Mike Ozanian cited a source as saying that the Stars “are losing $1 million a week” because of their “high debt and interest payments.” The source added that the debt “is being capitalized rather than paid” (FORBES.com, 7/19).
VIRTUAL TOUR: The Falcons yesterday announced that they have “started a new virtual seat viewing system that gives fans a three-dimensional look inside the Georgia Dome.” ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas noted fans can “pick a seat anywhere in the stadium and see what the view is like from there.” The system “also includes an interactive parking map where fans can plot their course from the parking lot to their seats.” The Falcons are using the system, called Seats 3D, “to sell season tickets, half-season packages and single game tickets” (ESPN.com, 7/19).
SUMMER CAMP: In DC, Dan Steinberg noted Monday marked the “first day of the first year of Red Sox Camp -- the official summer camps" of the MLB club -- in Bethesda, Md. The program is “believed to be the first team-branded MLB camp outside of a team’s home market.” Red Sox Camps co-Founder & Exec Dir Brendan Sullivan said, “It’s a loyal group of people, and they’ll travel far and wide to touch anything that has Red Sox on it.” The camp “was open for up to 125 kids ages 5-13.” Campers yesterday were scheduled for a trip to watch the Red Sox-Orioles game at Camden Yards (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/18).
MORE NBA LAYOFFS: In Minneapolis, Jerry Zgoda cites a source as saying that nearly three weeks into the NBA lockout, the T'Wolves “have laid off between 10 and 12 employees on the operation’s business side” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/20).
