In Seattle, Mike Rosenberg in a front-page piece notes the Mariners "suffered a surprising off-field setback" in their plan to use $180M in public funds to renovate Safeco Field. King County Council Member Jeanne Kohl-Welles, one of the Mariners' strongest supporters for the plan, dropped her support and said that most of the money "should be used for affordable housing instead." Kohl-Welles said that she would "introduce a competing proposal to use most of those funds on housing," and instead contribute $25M in public funds toward Safeco Field (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/1).
MIXED-USE FIELD: In St. Paul, Jace Frederick reports the Vikings' new TCO Performance Center practice facility will host high school football games this fall. Minnesota State High School League Associate Dir Bob Madison said that the stadium's capacity of 6,500 "hits a 'sweet spot' not available" to the league at other postseason venues (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/1).
REMAIN WITNESS: ESPN's McMenamin & Youngmisuk cited a source as saying that when the renovated Quicken Loans Arena reopens this fall, Lakers F LeBron James' likeness "will still be included" in the arena where the team "recognizes its legends and history" (ESPN.com, 7/29).
