Developer Joel Cantor yesterday said that he “wants to buy and raze the struggling entertainment complex” Channelside Bay Plaza so he can “build a baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays in downtown Tampa.” Cantor said that “a 33,000-seat stadium could fit on the waterfront site," much like AT&T Park in S.F. In Tampa, Thurston, Thalji & Danielson report there is “no lack of obstacles” to the proposal. A group led by Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik has the “inside track to buy Channelside and is close to a deal.” In addition, the Tampa Port Authority's BOG “would have to approve any deal.” The BOG's “reaction -- to put it mildly -- was skeptical” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 10/3).
STAKE YOUR CLAIM: In K.C., Paul Koepp writes the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority voted Sept. 18 to “suspend payments from the maintenance fund for Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums.” The move “would seem to ratchet up tension between the county and the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, which long have disagreed about how to set aside money for stadium upkeep.” But all sides said that they “intend to keep discussing the issue.” An authority audit, completed in May, said that “the Royals ‘have put the Authority on notice that they may make a claim’ about the diversion of money” and that if the team does, “the Chiefs probably would make a similar claim.” The county and teams have been “negotiating a memorandum of understanding for more than a year to clarify how money should flow from the county’s voter-approved three-eighths-cent sales tax -- and other sources -- through a bond trustee and to the teams" (K.C. BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/28 issue).
PERMISSION TO PARTY: In Green Bay, Richard Ryman reports the Ashwaubenon, Wisc. Plan Commission is “recommending that conditional use permits be required for so-called Packers party houses in residentially zoned neighborhoods.” The commission yesterday “recommended a transient residential facility ordinance for village board approval Oct. 9.” The regulations are “based on Green Bay’s ordinance.” Party houses are residences “purchased by individuals or organizations for private gatherings on the days of Packers games.” Some include “bands and after-game functions” (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 10/3).
PENALTY BOX: On Long Island, Sid Cassese cited an Occupational Safety & Health Administration report as saying that SMG, which operates Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, “faces a total of $88,000 in proposed fines for asbestos, electrical, chemical and other hazards facing workers at the Coliseum.” SMG spokesperson Tom Mulligan said, "Nassau County, as owner of the Coliseum, is responsible for asbestos remediation, maintenance and capital improvements. … While SMG is gratified that OSHA did not find any willful violations, we will be contesting the citation” (NEWSDAY, 10/1).
