In Orlando, Denise-Marie Ordway reported UCF's 10,000-seat basketball venue will "be known as the CFE Federal Credit Union Arena -- or the CFE Arena for short." The credit union is paying nearly $4M over seven years for the deal and "plans to open a branch inside the arena." The branch will "feature a lounge area with a self-service coffee bar" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 5/23).
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: In Ft. Lauderdale, Craig Davis wrote Sun Life Stadium "is no longer the elephant in the room," but rather it is a "glaring issue that isn't going away, and the Super Bowl isn't coming back until it is dealt with." College football championship games also are "in question as the new playoff system will require a bid process similar to the NFL's." Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross said, "We have to go forward now and figure out how we can make it happen. It should be a real public-private partnership. That's how all these other cities got their stadiums" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 5/23).
INSIDE OUT: Vikings co-Owner & President Mark Wilf said a clear roof with pivoting doors that will be a part of the team's new stadium is "going to be, in a way, the new retractable roof for the future and it's going to be very inviting and open for the fans." He said the new roof will make it "feel like you're outdoors," and in an "outdoor setting but you'll have temperature control." Wilf: "It's going to feel like football should feel." Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said the design is "revolutionary" and "unconventional." He added the idea shows "we're on a new frontier here" ("PFT," NBC Sports Network, 5/22).
USE OF SPACE: Harris County (Texas) Judge Ed Emmett said that the county has "set a deadline of June 10 for private entities to offer financially sound ideas for the use" of the Astrodome. In Houston, Tania Ganguli noted public entities after that will "have until June 25." Emmett said that it was "likely a bond election would follow that gave voters the option between whatever option they decided was best and demolishing the Astrodome." He added that he "expects it to be resolved before the 2017 Super Bowl" (CHRON.com, 5/22).
