An ARIZONA REPUBLIC editorial asks, “Why is Arizona State University President Michael Crow fuming over a plan to share the Chicago Cubs' new spring-training facility in Mesa?” Sources said that Crow “hasn't been involved in negotiations.” However, Crow “called the Cubs ‘highly erratic’ and ‘not people of their word’ in a publicly available e-mail, adding that ASU would proceed with more expensive stadium renovations in Tempe.” By most accounts, the deal “was nearly finished,” and only “a few minor sticking points remain on concessions and facility use.” Groundbreaking for the facility “is scheduled in less than three weeks, and with ASU's presence unsettled, the Cubs haven't been able to finalize stadium designs” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/22).
NOT ON OUR DIME: In Chicago, Mahr & Ryan reported Bridgeview officials “stung by a costly soccer stadium got an earful from angry residents Wednesday who complained of a lack of answers on how much the struggling venture will cost them.” Resident Marge Woods said, “I would really like to know what the village plan is to handle this enormous debt. You can't do it on the backs of us taxpayers." Toyota Park, the taxpayer-owned home of the MLS Chicago Fire, “has come up millions of dollars short of making its debt payments since opening in 2006,” and the town “has nearly tripled property taxes in less than a decade” (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 6/21).
NOTES: The Ralston Arena, set to open in October, has selected New Era Tickets to provide customized ticketing technology and related services. The facility, based in Ralston, Neb., will be 95,000 square feet and serve as the home facility for the USHL Omaha Lancers, Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha men’s basketball and Indoor Football League Omaha Beef (New Era)....In N.Y., Rich Calder reports a week after "the Chris Brown vs. Drake bottle-throwing melee at SoHo hotspot W.i.P., Barclays Center reps made a point of assuring state liquor officials that there will be no bottle service -- expect for champagne and wine -- at arena director Jay-Z's latest outpost" of his 40/40 Club (N.Y. POST, 6/22).
