In Atlanta, Niesse & Roberson reported MLS expansion club Atlanta United FC "may build its soccer training fields and facilities in DeKalb County." A potential site "is near Interstate 285 and Memorial Drive, an area along the eastern perimeter of Metro Atlanta that the county has targeted for development of a 'Downtown DeKalb' including a proposed government center." The location "is near two MARTA stations, and it’s a short drive from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport." The county budgeted $3M to "demolish buildings and clear the land this week" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 7/25).
FOR PETERSBURG'S SAKE: A TAMPA BAY TIMES editorial stated the St. Petersburg City Council "has taken a creative step toward breaking the destructive stadium stalemate" with the Rays. The council's vote Thursday to "ask Mayor Rick Kriseman to seek an Urban Land Institute study of Tropicana Field's redevelopment potential is positive movement, and Kriseman should pursue this option." The study "should not be an excuse for further delay in allowing the Rays to look in both Pinellas and Hillsborough for stadium sites, but it could advance public discussions about the future of the valuable Trop site with or without a new stadium" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 7/25).
UNITED WE PROFIT: In Chicago, Patrick O'Connell reported Blackhawks Chair Rocky Wirtz and Bulls Chair Jerry Reinsdorf "sent Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city and state officials a report titled 'The Economic Impact of United Center,' touting the arena as a job and opportunity creator." The report, compiled by accounting firm KPMG, "had been in the works for more than a year, and it was released publicly to coincide with Wirtz's appearance before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board." Wirtz reps said that there "was no hidden motive behind the report," which estimates $2B in economic activity annually generated by the arena (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/24).
I'LL HAVE THE CHEESE PLATE: In Green Bay, Richard Ryman reported the reviews "were good" for Friday's grand opening of the Packers' 1919 Kitchen & Tap at the Lambeau Field atrium. The restaurant's design "was a collaboration of the Packers and The Rockwell Group of New York." Scathain, a custom-furniture and decorative accessories manufacturing firm in Milwaukee, "created many of the elements in the restaurant, including tables, seats, planters and a simulated factory wall" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 7/25).
