In Atlanta, Dan Klepal notes City Council members last week "narrowly approved" $10M in additional funding for a pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, after "being told if they didn’t vote in favor of spending the money they would likely be left with an ugly bridge and be hit with a lawsuit from the contractor." The bridge, with a "swirling design" that includes $6M in "decorative lighting and metal cladding, will connect a MARTA station" to the stadium. Many council members "thought the bridge would cost no more" than $12.8M when they voted in favor of it in '16 (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/14).
GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE... The BMO Harris Bradley Center will hold its final event in July, and in Milwaukee, James Nelson notes the arena will auction off its "kitchen equipment, seats, furniture and artifacts" starting sometime in May. How the sales will be conducted is not yet known, but Bradley Center President & CEO Steve Costello said that it "likely will be a combination of online and maybe a live auction." Costello said that the sales are "projected to generate $400,000 to $500,000." The money will go to "fund wind-down operations at the facility" and any additional money left over "would be returned to state coffers" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/14).
COMFORT ZONE: ISM Raceway in Phoenix is in the midst of a $178M renovation project, and ISC Exec VP & COO Joie Chitwood said of what fans want in the changes, "You've got to have a comfortable seat. It's not benches any more. It's chair backs. It's cup holders. It's escalators. It's having good food and beverage choices and more variety. It’s social engagement areas. People want space to hang out. Yes, they want to sit and watch the action on the track. But maybe they want to take a break for 30 laps and go hang out where they can converse or get connected to Wi-Fi" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/11).
