In Minneapolis, Kevin Duchschere notes the city and Vikings officials yesterday said that they are “scrutinizing a parcel of land next to the Metrodome in hopes of continuing to play at the old stadium while the new one is under construction.” Even as the “owner of a major technology center on the site insisted that he's not selling,” Vikings' VP/Stadium Operations & Public Affairs Lester Bagley said that they “want to see whether building at the Dome location can be done without having to spend the $48 million it would cost for the team to play up to three seasons at the University of Minnesota.” Bagley said, “We're trying to be smart about making that work, and it's in everybody's best interest to limit or eliminate any time spent playing at the university” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/31).
EXPEDITING THE PROCESS: An L.A. TIMES editorial states AEG’s proposed downtown football stadium “was the kind of job-creating development that needed to move forward, even if that meant passing special-case legislation to help it along.” The legislation, which “expedites the legal process for lawsuits challenging the project on environmental grounds, won our support because quick action was required and because it didn't let AEG off the hook for adhering to the California Environmental Quality Act, including an environmental impact report.” But it was “far from ideal.” That is why it is “important to find reasonable solutions not just for the proposed stadium but for other good projects that might be choked off by an unreasonable or unduly long court battle” (L.A. TIMES, 1/30).
SIGNS OF PROGRESS: In Sacramento, Dale Kasler reports 13 companies “plan to bid on the city of Sacramento's parking operations, a key piece of Mayor Kevin Johnson's push for a downtown sports arena” for the NBA Kings. The deadline was yesterday for "responding to the city's request for qualifications -- the first step in the bidding." While the responses “are nonbinding, they signify that the companies will offer at least $185 million to lease the parking assets -- the minimum price set by the city.” The names of qualified bidders “won't be released until Thursday” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/31).
FOR THE BIRDS: In Baltimore, Jack Lambert notes the Orioles are “adding a new restaurant and party area in center field that will be open year-round aimed at bringing in more fans.” Orioles Exec VP/Business Operations Doug Duennes said that the team “has sold most of the sponsorship opportunities for the Eutaw Street restaurant, but that it is still looking for signage and theme opportunities for a redesigned center-field picnic area.” Duennes also said that the Orioles are “on pace to match sponsorship sales from last year, but did not disclose specific figures or new partners” (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/27 issue).
