In Minneapolis, Janet Moore writes the city’s Metropolitan Council yesterday “edged closer to funding” a $6M pedestrian bridge at a major light-rail station near the new Vikings stadium, “though some members questioned why the team isn’t paying for the project.” The structure “would be used not only during Vikings games, but at other events held at the new stadium.” The council “authorized its staff to continue negotiating with the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which is overseeing construction” of the $1B stadium. However, the council will “decide later whether to fund the project, in whole or in part” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/28).
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: In Chicago, Melissa Harris wrote Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts has managed to transition Wrigley Field “into the new world while honoring the past and keeping the place recognizable.” Other than the videoboards -- and “the empty, still-under-construction right field bleachers -- I had a hard time discerning what was new.” Although this is "just Year 1 of a multiyear renovation," the more than $100M invested thus far "seems to be panning out.” The forest green backgrounds on the videoboards are “perfect matches for the green on the old center field scoreboard,” and the “white lettering matches nicely” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/28).
ALL YOU CAN EAT: In California, Brad Johnson reviews the Diamond Club at Angel Stadium, an “exclusive restaurant and lounge for club-level ticket holders and suite owners." Johnson: “The first thing that caught my eye when I arrived was the buffet. ... I saw beautiful beet salads, bowls of brightly colored citrus, prosciutto being shaved to order on a red enamel meat slicer, an elaborate spread of miniature desserts and hand-scooped ice cream.” It “felt like I’d stumbled into a reception at a five-star hotel.” Entrees “have to be ordered from a menu, which offers merely a few options, including a petite sirloin steak and a double-cut pork chop” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 5/28).
