Stadiums

Voters in Pittsburgh overwhelmingly rejected a sales tax boost Tuesday to build two stadiums, and Minneapolis voters demanded a say before multimillion-dollar sports projects even start. Residents of 11 southwestern Pennsylvania counties rejected a half-cent sales tax hike proposed to finance stadiums for baseball's Pirates and football's Steelers.

Is the city of Anaheim better off without the NFL? Is it better off without the Angels? Councilman Harry Sidhu interrupted a choreographed news conference Tuesday to pose the first question, and the city might soon have to answer the second question. The issue reflects a growing consensus among economists that sports stadiums and arenas might be wonderful for civic pride but make for poor public investments. "There are only two things you do not want on a valuable piece of real estate.

Officially, all they knew was that Seattle's Seahawks were vowing to fly the coop. Word was, they wanted to land in Los Angeles. But where? That was the question, and grown men were sitting by their phones on Friday, waiting to find out. "I've tried to call their number in Seattle, but all I get is a busy signal," said Los Angeles City Council President John Ferraro, who is also chairman of the Coliseum Commission.

The college community and the public will be able to comment Monday on a proposal to build a stadium at Saddleback College. The school's trustees will open a hearing at 4:30 p.m. at the college library in Room 105. College officials said a decision on the stadium is not likely until Dec. 9. The Long Beach Riptide, a minor league baseball team, is considering a move to Mission Viejo for the 1997 season.

More than two decades after fleeing to the suburbs, the Detroit Lions said Tuesday they will return downtown, to a new $245-million, domed stadium. The 70,000-seat football facility, which would be funded with public and private money, is slated for construction adjacent to a previously announced $240-million baseball stadium for the Detroit Tigers.

Although it's too soon to determine what effect the surprise resignation of San Diego's mayor will have on the Chargers' bid for a new stadium, a team spokesman said Monday that recent turmoil in city government has complicated efforts to find a development partner. "In such extremely uncertain circumstances, it's a real challenge to persuade investors to put their money in San Diego," said Mark Fabiani, Charger point man for the stadium effort.

We lose Georgia Frontiere, but we gain a new stadium? I'd make that trade any day. It's like Christmas in April. It isn't every day that we get to exchange a rundown football team for a beautiful new arena. It's like trading a marble for a ruby. You know what this means, don't you? This means we don't have to watch the Rams anymore and we won't have to sit in the Coliseum much longer. Who says prayers aren't answered?

Al Kaline told Robert Fick to go out and make some history. Once he caught his breath, Fick did just that. Fick's first career grand slam helped the Detroit Tigers close Tiger Stadium with an 8-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday. "It's the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me," Fick said. Luis Polonia and Karim Garcia also homered for Detroit. Mark Quinn homered for Kansas City. Tiger players wore numbers of former stars who played through the years.

The Chargers, who have yet to get traction in their push for a new stadium, officially unveiled a plan Wednesday to pay for the $400-million venue themselves in exchange for the development rights to the land around it. The Chargers want to build a new stadium on the existing Qualcomm Stadium site, and use the rest of the 166 acres for housing, retail businesses, a hotel and 30 acres of parkland.