Venue News & Notes: Boxing To Return to Yankee Stadium

Officials with Top Rank Boxing have reached a preliminary agreement with the Yankees to stage the WBC 154-lb. title match between champion Yuri Foreman and former welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium on June 5. Top Rank VP of Boxing Carl Moretti said last night that, after weeks of negotiations, a deal had been agreed to with the Yankees and that Top Rank is working on the logistics for the fight, which will be broadcast on HBO. “We have a preliminary agreement with them. Nothing has been signed or finalized,” Yankees COO Lonn Trost told the Associated Press, calling the deal subject to approval from team higher-ups. “We do plan, if things go well, to have it on June 5”…

…Rather than rushing to try to gain public support to upgrade Sun Life Stadium, the Miami Dolphins and the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee will bid for the 2014 Super Bowl without the promise of a partial roof and other refurbishments. Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said Tuesday that, in deference to the still struggling economy, the team is slowing renovation plans, even though that could jeopardize the 2014 bid: “We’re going to go down the road in ‘as-is’ condition to see where we fall. We felt we had a better chance in ’14 if we got this resolved and had a better solution”…

…The Pro Bowl will continue to be played before the Super Bowl, even when it returns to Honolulu next year. The Hawaii Tourism Authority and the NFL announced Tuesday that the game will be at Aloha Stadium on Jan. 30, the Sunday before the Super Bowl in Arlington, TX. The Pro Bowl historically had been played in Honolulu the week after the Super Bowl, but that was changed when it moved to Miami this year…

…Tacoma, WA’s beloved but creaky Cheney Stadium is getting a $30 million renovation, which will include 16 luxury suites, a private club, and a 5,000-sq.-ft. club and restaurant. Cheney Stadium is home to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. As part of the deal to overhaul the stadium, the Rainiers signed a 30-year lease. The Rainiers have drawn well at Cheney Stadium, which is owned by the city of Tacoma. The city and the team are betting that new seats, luxury suites, and private club and restaurant will help bolster revenue…

…Everyone was glad to see baseball back as perennially optimistic Chicago Cubs fans flocked to Mesa, AZ’s Hohokam Stadium for Opening Day of the 2010 Cactus League season. But while more than 8,000 fans enjoyed the usual sun, beer, and hot dogs, the political questions swirling over the Cubs’ future in Mesa — and whether Arizona can somehow pass the bill to finance a new east Mesa training complex demanded by the team — seemed to cast a long shadow over an otherwise perfect spring day. “The Cubs belong here, and they need to stay here. That’s why we need your help,” Mayor Scott Smith said during a rally outside the ballpark just before game time that featured Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.