Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 38

1: be Thursday January 28 1999 I wwwstar telegratncom RACING THE CLOCK fitness center will be ready for season II A itemi it -t' 1 AA oto 12 jet-- 1----'' 1 0 I n---1' 1 El 13 0 I It I 0 I 1 414 1L7 i e'77- 'II '''''''''to C'' A litrOVIP4 i i tAtAA4 3 2' '10 A ett'itt AA to A 1 1 l' 04-' "A '-'w ei -'71 A "LA -7 1 1 14 l' i I 1 out of the market" Although is starting a big marketing push for its Personal Network plan including a television commercial during the Super Bowl the promotion is targeted to a select group of users technically savvy people who make a lot of calls The all-in-one package is worth it for customers who make at least 200 minutes of mobile-phone calls a month and make most of those calls locally said Samuel Simon head of the Telecommunicati9ns Research and Action Center a consumer group based in Washington DC The plan's 10-cents-a-minute rate applies only to calls made from a consumer's local calling area The rate shoots up to 60 cents a minute once mobile-phone users wander too far such as a Chicago resident who vacations in the Rockies Those customers would be off with popular Digital One Rate promotion a pricing package that charges users from-11 cents to 15 cents a minute no matter where they are calling from "You may well be able to find equal if not better individual plans" Simon said "It is a great rate for very heavy users" Investors apparently took a wait-and-see approach on whether the plan would help overall business The company's stock fell $15625 or by 18 percent: to $853125 a share on a declining New York Stock Exchange From Page 1C the future of telephony" Other major phone companies offer customers some plans that are similar to parts of the initiative Sprint Corp for example sells long-distance and mobile-phone service for 10 cents a minute but doesn't put it on one bill A Sprint spokesman said it is too early to say whether the company will follow lead Personal Network promotion which begins Sunday is the company's latest effort to buoy its long-distance sales which fell 36 percent last quarter as customers continued to defect to rival providers of cheaper service To encourage customer loyalty the $2999 plan requires customers to sign a one-year contract that obligates them to pay for a year's worth of service In addition to mobile-phone and long-distance service the promotion includes a personal toll-free number with incoming calls costing 10 cents a minute and a calling card for the same per-minute fee For $4494 a month throws in Internet access including 150 hours a month of use "Life is going to get a lot simpler for anyone trying to juggle" different services President John Zeglis said in a teleconference "We're taking the confusion optimistic dining club The Speedway Club expected to be construction just outside of the speedway's gates The club and office tower represent a larger trend as sports venues make the most of their facilities according to Sean Brenner editor of the Team Marketing Report an industry' newsletter based in Chicago "With the newest wave of stadiums and arenas and other venues the operators are seeking to maximize their revenues not only through luxury and club seating where they get the higher ticket prices but also in bringing more people to the venue throughout the year" Brenner said I rt7q golet I -q At: 7t1 It 11 (A "P' n1' -r-sc1 El -J 'AA 1 i I -1 1 I 1 0 ') 14 7' Ilks' a 0016k l' -44S r3 --r'' 1 p44i 0 i 1 1 A1 in 111 Sij ct th cc $: fo er '3: Pi A c( Y' A Ii fi 1: Star-Telegram01AF GROWALD ready in late March is a 9-story $35 million glass tower near Turn 1 Cable TV companies agree to trade assets Speedway official By BILL BOWEN Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH The starter's flag for the 1999 NASCAR season at Texas Motor Speedway won't fall for another two months but Bernard Van Mourik general manager of The Speedway Club is already racing Van Mourik is general manager of what will be a 9-story $35 million glass tower at Turn I the south end of the speedway's grandstand By the March 25 grand opening he must turn what is now a dusty construction site into a sleek members-only upscale dining club including a 1000-seat ballroom and the second-largest fitness center and day spa in the Metroplex "Up until two weeks ago was saying 'Wow I don't know if we're going to be ready' van Mourik said yesterday "Now I can see it coming together" The club and the accompanying Lone Star Tower a 10-story pile of upscale condos and commercial space carve two more facets into the speedway's strategy to make the most of the giant motorsports venue "1 think The Speedway Club will have more synergy with what the speedway is all about than anything else we have done" TMS General Manager Eddie Gossage said The plan is to draw activities from the growing corporate community nearby in Ross Perot Jr's Alliance Airport commercial and industrial park and it will provide corporate sponsors and racing enthusiasts another place to spend their money It will also capitalize on the three hotels now planned or in TOWER From Page 1 five companies occupy 25 percent of the 100000 square feet available Carrancejie said Three more prospects a home builder an aviation firm and a telecommunications company may join them soon he said The condos on floors five through 10 are 92 percent leased with 70 of the total 76 sold Purchase prices range from $326000 to well over $600000 speedway officials said For Abco the appeal of the commercial space was obvious The Georgia-based contractor is building the $25 million tower as well as the $35 million Speedway Club a 9-story conference center on Turn 1 And the speedway owner Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports is also a major client Bledsoe said Abco will also use the site as a base to get more business in Texas Bledsoe said "What works so well for us is that Atlanta's airport is a major VTRIUAESTExAN1 pecta pictographs Lone "What works so well for us is that Atlanta's airport is a major hub so we can hop over to projects in Tennessee North Carolina or New Jersey Texas is a bit far for that so we needed an office here We need to be as close as possible to TMS and other clients to react to their needs" 1 1 1 The Speedway Club will lease space for luncheon meetings corporate retreats and provide members with nighttime social activities and upscale dining van Mourik said "We can handle everything from high school proms to corporate and civic meetings" van Mourik said during a tour of the club yesterday The conference space will be added to the list of Fort Worth attractions used by the Fort Worth Convention Visitors Bureau to market the area to meeting planners Greg Staley a spokesman for the bureau said The Speedway Club is a unique Lynn Bledsoe Abco's vice president for what we do But a lot of people we deal with are obviously related to racing business so it's a natural tie-in By being located here we can also manage our race even better" It made fiscal sense as well the lease rate for offices at Lone Star Tower is $18 per square foot Similar space averages $1950 in downtown Fort Worth $23 in Plano $24 in Northeast Tarrant County and $28 in Las Colinas said Greg Willett 'of MPF Research which tracks Metroplex real estate "We actually reduced our expenses by coming here and got a little more room as well" Everybody's got a Press Pass How do I get mine? Join the thousands of Star-Telegram subscribers who enjoy the benefits of Press Pass! Just dial DELIVER (817) 335-4837 and subscribe to the Star-Telegram and pay for six or twelve months in advance If you're already a subscriber call and convert to a Convenience Pay Plan subscription You'll receive your Press Pass in the mail With your Press Pass you'll receive 20 off your dining bill at more than 200 participating restaurants along with great savings on entertainment movies special events and more Star-TelOram oolgv1' st '40-evv draw "It's attached to the largest attraction in the city of Fort Worth and there is a certain appeal about being at something that enormous" Staley said Memberships include an upfront initiation fee and monthly dues van Mourik said Corporate fees run about $5000 with an additional $50 a month per designee Individual memberships cost about $1800 with dues of about $65 per month Bill Bowen (817) 685-3809 Pyle said "We run a fairly lean organization so our owners appreciate having a quality image within reasonable financial parameters" When Volt Services Group prepared to expand regional offices in Richardson and Arlington it found the speedway by accident regional manager Katherine Lockwood said Its parking spaces gave the speedway a clear advantage over downtown Fort Worth's congestion she said The contract labor and staffing agency also considered a move to Alliance but Lockwood said the speedway had the racer's edge "A lot of principals that we work with people like Pronto GTE and Hewlett-Packard have condos" on floors five through 10 Lockwood said "The elite status of TMS and our association with it literally puts our business in the fast lane 'And once the Speedway Club opens next door we should really kick into high gear" Bill Ilornathiy (817) 685-3804 hornadaystar-telegrancom Bill Ilorna lay (817) 685-3804 hornadaystar-telegrancom CARTY From Page IC two years Congress faces a March 31 deadline to essentially approve the agency's role in operating the air traffic control system and the airport grant program Last year the Senate and House in the outgoing 105th Congress failed to agree on a comprehensive FAA bill and opted to authorize the agency for six months The House panel has already approved another short-term six-month bill setting up a squabble with the Senate The committee's aviation subcommittee also plans to begin hearings on a comprehensive package next week Shuster wants the aviation trust fund which collects ticket taxes and other levies to pay for airport construction to be separate from the unified felieral budget so that airport spending would not be restricted The hub so we can hop over to projects in Tennessee North Carolina or New Jersey" Bledsoe said "Texas is a bit far for that so we needed an office here We need to be as close as possible to TMS and other clients to react to their needs" With Pronto Auto Parts sponsoring a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race for the third year moving its national headquarters from Las Colinas made marketing sense President Ron Pyle said "Having the track right outside your window is a great marketing tool" Pyle said "Our headquarters could be anywhere we have no geographic limits customers in Arlington It also serves Bedford Colleyville Euless and Grand Prairie Charter will pay InterMedikan unspecified amount of cash arid will give it systems serving 140000 customers in Indiana Kentucky Utah and Montana Charter will take over about 400000 customers in Greenville and Spartanburg SC Athens and Gainesville Ga Asheville and Marion NC Kingsport Cleve- land and Alcoa Tenn and some west Tennessee communities Inter Media now the 10th-largest cable system will continue to own and manage systems serving about 465000 customers in Kentucky Georgia and North Carolina Officials said TO and Inter Media may strike a deal that would allow Inter Media to continue managing and operating the Nashville market Charter is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen It was ranked the eighth-fastest-growing company in the country by Mc magazine last year when it announced plans to acquire Marcus Cable That deal should bump it up to No 7 Marcus Cable which is based in Dallas is the largest provider of cable service in Tarrant County with 130000 subscribers including 70000 in Fort Worth A definitive agreement wilt be finalized over the next couple of months and the transaction is expected to close this summer pending regulatory and other approvals the companies said Department officials for intervening in the case Without naming the agency which issued rules easing restrictions on flights from Love Field last year he said that "the notion: by policy-makers that planes can land anywhere that's naive" Nancy McFadden the Transportation Department's general counsel and a central figure in the rule making was on the dais with Carty The agency maintained that federal law allowing airlines to fly wherever they wish pre-empted any local restrictions As for the long-stalled approval of American's marketing alliance with British Airways Carty said "We are going to be long-term partners together How intimate will be defined by the regulatory bodies" MariA ecio 1202) 383-6103 I' By KARIN MILLER The Associated Press NASHVILLE Tenn Three cable TV companies serving Southern and Central states will swap assets in a $24 billion deal Tele-Communications Inc and Charter Communications will acquire systems that Inter Media Partners now uses to serve about 700000 customers in Georgia North Carolina South Carolina and Tennessee TCI which is being acquired by communications giant will give up its 49 percent stake in Inter Media in exchange for InterMedia's 300000 customers in the Nashville area and Charter's systeMs in several Indiana communities Shelbyville Ky Logan Utah and Milltown Mont TCI President Leo Hindery said Inter Media's recently rebuilt cable systems should help TCI provide the advanced communications services that will be available after the merger with has announced plans to spend billions of dollars upgrading TCI's cable systems to handle allin-one packages of TV local phone and Internet services The TCI acquisition valued at about $43 billion is a major part of push to use cable lines to offer local phone service TCI the nation's second-largest cable company already provides local phone service through its cable systems in Hartford Conn and the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights In North Texas TCI has 60000 Senate panel's chairman Sen John McCain R-Ariz does not want the fund to be "off budget" Carty did not address the specifics of the dispute other than to say that McCain's plan to overhaul the FAA should be joined with Shuster's advocacy of spending aviation revenue on aviation needs Citing a report done by the National Civil Aviation Review Commission Carty said "Without significant FAA reform soon our aviation system will succumb to gridlock shortly after the turn of the century" Asked about one of the most contentious issues facing American the legal dispute over Love Field Carty said that Fort Worth and Dallas are "anxious" to reach an agreement "They're getting close" he said "I hope they agree I'm afraid there are so many issues here it may end up in court for years to come" 1 Carty used his speech to indirectly chide Transportation cular of th Star State 0 star-telegrancom wwwvirtualtexancom 0 0 :0 ao'AN't PURCHASE REFINANCE HOME EQUITY minommimummumm 1-800-Flomk-LoAN Atirit OiSIOUN7 IdOEAF iFoanrr wo wow I CON FREE "pre-qualify Rifore you buy" Low down payment options Loans with no closing costs available Financing for imperfect credit records No income verification pfrograms MAIM approved lender TI OPEN SUNDAY SAN-SPIA 1 Inreciokrwashinguttocom 1.