Venue News: A’s Efforts for San Jose Stadium Hit Road Block

Efforts to build a new stadium for the Oakland Athletics in San Jose, CA, may have hit a snag. San Jose’s redevelopment agency tells the San Jose Mercury News that it is in such bad financial shape it might not be able to buy the last pieces of land for a downtown stadium. The agency is now looking into selling some of its own real estate to buy the two outstanding parcels, which are estimated at $20 million. Officials say there is also a possibility that A’s owner Lew Wolff could buy the land…

…The new Boston Red Sox spring-training stadium will bring in millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs, mostly next year, according to a Florida Gulf Coast University study. Lee County’s expected income from the project is about $5.4 million in 2010, $23.4 million in 2011, and $1.5 million in 2012. And the stadium will bring the equivalent of 92 full-time jobs this year. Next year, that figure zooms to 396 jobs and 25 employees in 2012. The construction project on Daniels Parkway east of Interstate 75 began this year and is expected to be completed in time for spring training 2012…

…The San Diego Sports Arena will be renamed the Valley View Casino Center under an agreement approved this week by the City Council. The naming-rights deal will bring the city about $157,000 over the next five years. The San Pasqual Casino Development Group, a subsidiary of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, will pay the operator of the Sports Arena, AEG Management, an undisclosed amount for the naming rights. However, the contract with AEG Management provides that the city get 10% of any naming-rights deal…

…Centre Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh is as hilly as any other street in town but doesn’t appear much wider. In separating the Penguins’ new Consol Energy Center from much older Mellon Arena, though, it signifies just how far the NHL team has come in 10 years. It also represents the long, hard road the Penguins took from the poorhouse to prosperity after Mario Lemieux, the team’s former star player, bought the bankrupt franchise in 1999 and began rebuilding the club and working toward a new arena. Comparing the two arenas’ amenities, functionality, and revenue generation, Centre Avenue’s crosswalk to Consol might as well stretch to Philadelphia…

…Verizon Wireless recently announced that it has completed additional enhancements to its 3G wireless network as part of the company’s commitment to ensure that its customers have access to reliable wireless service. The current 3G wireless network enhancement project was deployed at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park and the surrounding area to handle the expected surge in data and wireless usage during the Phillies’ Major League Baseball playoffs. A permanent cell site is to be added near the ballpark. Along with that, the company has also upped the network capacity by deploying a temporary mobile cell site, to be known henceforth as Cell on Light Truck.