Venue News and Notes: Dems, Gustav Pack a Punch

…It took construction crews six weeks to turn
Denver’s
Pepsi
Center into the home of the Democratic
National Convention, but they have just two weeks to turn it
back into an arena. More than 200 miles of cable have to be pulled out,
among other work to be done…
…
Hurricane
Gustav, packing the biggest punch of wind and rain of any storm to hit the
capital city since Hurricane Betsy in 1965, significantly
damaged LSU’s Tiger Stadium and postponed Saturday’s LSU football game
against
Troy…
…The Jets and the Giants are negotiating with Allianz, the
German-based financial services giant, to buy the naming
rights to their new stadium. If the deal is completed, it will probably be
for at least 30 years and for an estimated $25 million or more annually, which
the teams would split…
…It may be only a matter of time before potential developers descend
in earnest on
Pittsburgh’s
Uptown neighborhood near the construction site of the Penguins’
new $290 million arena. The Uptown area is home to
Duquesne
University, which recently completed
the $30 million, 126,000-square foot
Power
Center on
Forbes Avenue, one
block from the new arena site…
…At two public sessions at Santa Clara City Hall this week, planners
working on the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed 49ers city-owned stadium
will take suggestions from residents of Santa Clara and neighboring cities,
government agencies and other interested groups…
…Keystone Sports and Entertainment, the ownership group planning to start
fielding a Major League Soccer
team in 2010, has picked T.N. Ward to build the $115 million
multiuse stadium
and entertainment complex
planned for Chester, Pa….
…
The
Montreal Canadiens have included a 2009 game at
the outdoor Olympic Stadium as one of their centennial projects, though the
match is far from being confirmed…
…
Die-hard
supporters of a new downtown arena in
Louisville,
Ky., persevered against a stingy credit market
as planners secured nearly $350 million in bond financing for a 22,000-seat
venue that will become an eye-catching attraction along
Louisville’s riverfront…
…
A
committee of 11 people has been chosen to help find a possible location for a new
baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. The committee was suggested after
the Rays in June abandoned plans to build a $450 million stadium on the
downtown
St. Petersburg
waterfront…
…The Phoenix
Suns plan to use solar panels for power at the US Airways Center, becoming
one of only a handful of professional sports teams that get a portion of their
energy from renewable sources like sun or wind…
…
The University
of Illinois will raise the curtain Saturday on a renovated Memorial Stadium
after adding $121
million worth of flash and polish to the 85-year-old home of
Illini football…
…
When the
University
of
Hawaii Warriors
football season starts this year at Aloha Stadium, spectators can expect to see
some ongoing changes, as the 33-year-old facility is getting an $11M makeover…
…A group of
Washington
State
University
fans has launched a campaign to try to stop tax dollars from helping to pay for
the University
of Washington’s $300 million stadium overhaul. Through an e-mail campaign
and fan sites, they’re trying to answer the Huskies’ request with a chorus of
Cougar “No”s…
…
Auburn
University has broken
ground on a new $90
million facility that will host the men’s and women’s basketball teams for
games, practices, weight-lifting and meetings. The arena is currently without a
name…
…
Liverpool,
England’s soccer team has blamed “global
market conditions” after announcing that work on its new stadium has been delayed
yet again. The $800 million project at
Stanley
Park
has suffered another setback as the club’s co-owners, Tom Hicks and George
Gillett, apparently do not have the required funds…