Stadium

Two groups that won a stunning October zoning victory against a proposed 78,600-seat football stadium in Laurel have appealed the one part of the zoning decision that went the Redskins' way.Russett Center Limited Partnership, a group of developers building a neighborhood next to the stadium site, and Citizens Against the Stadium II have appealed a hearing officer's decision to grant the Redskins a 39 percent reduction in the number of parking spaces that...

Anne Arundel County residents are evenly divided over the Washington Redskins' plans to move to a new stadium on the county's western border, according to a poll released yesterday.Roughly a third of the residents are opposed, a third favor the move and a third apparently don't care because they didn't know anything about it or didn't respond to the poll by the Anne Arundel County Community College Center for the Study of Local Issues.Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke has proposed building a 78,600-seat stadium next to Laurel Race Course.

Anne Arundel County officials will hold their first public hearing July 11 on Jack Kent Cooke's proposal to build a football stadium near Laurel for the Redskins.The hearing is to begin at 9 a.m. at Meade Senior High School and adjourn at 5 p.m. It will continue on consecutive days until everyone wishing to testify has been heard.Mr. Cooke has requested a special exception to Anne Arundel's zoning regulations to allow him to build a 78,600-seat stadium in an industrial zone east of Laurel.

The North Laurel Civic Association has scheduled a meeting with Walter Lynch, Redskins stadium project manager, at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Laurel Woods Elementary School cafeteria.The change in the meeting site is to accommodate those who want to hear from Redskins representatives about how the proposed stadium will affect Howard countians who live near the complex.County Executive Charles I. Ecker and County Council member Shane Pendergrass also will attend.There will be a question-and-answer period to address residents' concerns.

Ravens marketing chief David Cope said the team is focusing its negotiations on four corporations interested in paying to put their name on the team's new stadium, which opens next month adjacent to Oriole Park.But, Cope said, the team may not reach agreement by the first preseason game, scheduled for Aug. 8, or even the first season."We're just not where we want to be with any of them yet," Cope said.The team is seeking a multimillion-dollar packaged sponsorship in which a corporation not only would get its name on the building, but potentially on the uniforms of cheerleaders and on the screen during game broadcasts.

A group that opposes a Redskins stadium in Laurel has released a study that questions the economic development claims of stadium supporters, and suggests the project would have only a "minor" economic impact on Anne Arundel County.The study by ZHA Inc., of Annapolis, estimates that most of the 570 construction jobs would go to noncounty residents and that once the stadium opened it would generate only about 35 full-time jobs for maintenance and administrative workers, and 1,200 game-day positions.

The Greater Towson Council of Community Associations voted 10-2 last night to oppose Towson University's request for $20 million in state funding to build a regional sports complex.The council, which represents 28 neighborhood groups, will draft a letter to state legislators requesting that they deny funding for the $28 million project because of concerns about increased traffic and noise.School officials want to double the size of Minnegan Stadium, which seats about 5,000.School officials who attended the meeting were disappointed with the vote but said they would "move forward with the plan."

Prince George's County's fire chief has backed off from his memo last week that said traffic from a proposed National Football League stadium in Laurel would trap emergency vehicles and cost lives.The Redskins are seeking permission to build a $160 million, 78,600-seat stadium east of Laurel in Anne Arundel County for National Football League games and other events. A public hearing on the stadium proposal is in its fourth week.Prince George's County planners testifying Tuesday submitted a July 26 memo from Chief M. H. Jim Estepp, which said that, unless a regional study is done and any problems discovered are fixed, "the public safety will be adversely affected such that the loss of life and property may be expected."