Venue News & Notes: New York Teams in Need of Cash

The New York Yankees and Mets are the latest to get in line for public financing. The two teams have $1.5 billion in public bonds for their new ballparks but are asking for $450 million more. The city’s Industrial Development Agency must hold a hearing before granting any additional public support for the ballparks, which are expected to be completed next year. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials have long insisted that the city reaps economic and other benefits from having the private stadiums.

…The Yankees and Mets baseball teams are asking New York for $450 million more in public bonds to finance their new ballparks, on top of nearly $1.5 billion already granted, according to the city’s Economic Development Corp. The teams requested the additional financing in applications filed with the city ahead of a public hearing on the funding next month. The applications have not yet been made public, but the city shared details in response to questions from Associated Press…

…If the Dallas Cowboys’ new $1.1 billion stadium is to become the permanent home of the Big 12 football championship game, it won’t be before 2010. The conference needs to “experience Dallas and the new facility” before making a decision on whether the stadium is a long-term fit, Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said. He said the next time the conference’s board of directors would meet to vote on possibly changing the league’s policy from a rotating venue to a permanent one would be early 2010…

…The Lee County, FL, Tourist Development Council on Friday endorsed a plan to dedicate additional tourist tax dollars to building a new spring-training complex for the Boston Red Sox, but whether the increase will come at the expense of beach and shoreline projects is still up in the air. The council’s endorsement moves 6.6% of bed-tax revenue from the county’s beaches and shoreline fund to the stadium fund, but that number might change after a planned TDC workshop next month…

…Capital One Financial Corp.’s pending purchase of Chevy Chase Bank likely will not impact Chevy Chase’s naming-rights deal with the University of Maryland, except for a possible name change. That was the word this week from UM Associate Media Relations Director Shawn Nestor. Chevy Chase inked a $20 million, 25-year naming-rights deal in 2006 to rename the university’s football facility Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium…

…Construction for a proposed NFL stadium in Industry, CA, has been pushed back at least a year, officials said. Representatives for the developer said the sports facility probably will not open until 2012, a year later than previously projected. John Semcken, VP for Majestic Reality Co., said officials at the National Football League want to wait until Industry fully approves the project before moving a team to Los Angeles.