Venue News & Notes: An A’s Stadium Must Pay Its Own Way in San Jose

The city of San Jose, CA, is interested in bringing the Oakland A’s baseball franchise to town, but on one set-in-stone condition: the team must pay for its own stadium. This week, the San Jose City Council will vote on a series of principles for negotiating with the A’s. The No. 1 condition: the ballpark must not cost San Jose any money and must actually make money for the city.

If the Oakland A’s are to move to San Jose, says the South Bay city’s mayor, the city should remain firm on one point: Lew Wolff, the A’s co-owner, “needs to pay for his own stadium.” This week, for the first time, the San Jose City Council will vote on a handful of principles meant to shape any future negotiations with the A’s. In fact, at the top of the city’s list is a requirement that any ballpark actually make the city money — “millions of dollars,” Reed said — instead of merely not costing it any…

…Dolphin Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, has been renamed LandShark Stadium following a sponsorship deal with singer/songwriter and businessman Jimmy Buffett. Buffett’s Margaritaville Enterprises includes his LandShark Lager beer, and the deal runs to the end of the 2009 NFL season. The stadium, which opened in 1987, has been known as Joe Robbie Stadium and Pro Player Stadium, among other names…

…Troy University’s board of trustees approved construction of a multipurpose arena that would be home to the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Trustees gave the go-ahead to Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. to issue up to $57 million in bonds for the arena, a new dining hall, and fraternity village. The arena will seat 5,000-6,000 spectators for basketball games and will be used for commencement ceremonies and other events. It might also include a student recreation facility…

…It is time to add La Caja Mágica to the grand tour of tennis showplaces. It is the new, avant-garde home of the combined men’s and women’s event in Madrid and an architectural achievement. It features three main courts with retractable roofs, all in the same arena, and it is a shape-shifting statement of the Spanish capital’s ambition to become a nexus for international sport. “A tennis Taj Mahal,” said Ion Tiriac, owner of the Madrid tournament.