6B
Tuesday. March 4. 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Kemper dusting off for tournament
Workers hurrying to revamp arena for Big 12 games
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kemper Arena was a dusty mess yesterday as workers raced to install new seats, upgrade concession stands and add lighting in time for the first Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament.
City officials said renovations of the building's interior should be completed when teams begin practicing tomorrow and when fans
arrive Thursday for the start of the tournament.
"When the doors open, the workers will be out of there," said Tom Bean, city architect.
Dirt and dust coated many of the surfaces yesterday afternoon. Crews were painting hand railings, and a few seats still were being installed.
The men's tournament is expected to draw about 19,500 people. 75 percent of them from out of town.
Kemper has played host to the Big Eight tournament since 1977 and kept the tournament when the conference became the Big 12 this season.
Kansas City has a contract to be
the tournament site for three more years before other cities can bid to be hosts.
The construction budget for Kemper's interior and exterior improvements was about $18.1 million, Bean said.
The first improvement fans will notice is increased lighting, he said. The next obvious change will be the additional 2,000 seats.
A new row of about 400 seats was created where a wide walkway once went around the top of the arena. Another 400 seats were installed in the corner of the arena. The remaining new seats are on the lower level.
Spectators who have endured past tournaments sitting in unadded, gold-colored fiberglass seats in the
"The best location in the house used to have the worst seats in the house," he said.
lower level will appreciate new upholstered seats, Bean said.
Tim Allen, associate commissioner of the Big 12, said crews had told him the project was on time and the arena would be ready.
One change female fans should notice is the addition of four new women's restrooms. Kemper, built in the early 1970s, was designed for a predominantly male crowd.
"We have not been concerned." Allen said. "We've been assured all along everything would be ready. And we're right."
Kemper's history contains both highlights and lowlights.
It was the site of the 1976 Republican Convention, and it won a design award in 1975 from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. $
The low point in the building's history was in June 1979, when its roof collapsed as severe winds ripped through the city. The damage was estimated at $5 million.
Kemper was the source of embarrassment when a clock malfunctioned in 1986 at the NCAA Midwest Region semifinal game between Kansas and Michigan State, giving the Jayhawks more time to win the game. At the time, an NCAA official called the malfunction the most blatant timing error he had seen in 20 years.
Citing overtolerance, umpires vow to get tougher
The Associated Press
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Don't look for many arguments at the ballpark this year. Managers and players may get tossed before they finish their first sentences.
"Tolerance in baseball is leading to total anarchy," umpires Jerry Crawford and Don Denkinger said. "The rules of the game will be rigidly enforced."
Umpires still are angry about last year's Roberto Alomar incident.
Baltimore's All-Star second baseman received a five-game suspension for spitting at ampire John Hirschbeck last September and will serve it this April — with pay. Umpires wanted a longer suspension, wanted it to be without pay and wanted Alomar to serve it during the postseason.
"Umpires will no longer bend over backwards to keep players in the game," Umpires Union representative Richie Phillips said. "The umpires, who have been off-criticized for being too confrontational, will engage in less arguments on the field. Players who engage in aberrant behavior can expect an immediate ejection and little conversation."
Baseball officials were angered by Phillips' threats.
"We expect they will not make a travesty of the game," acting commissioner Bud Selig said. "If they do, appropriate action will be taken. This is not a time for divisive statements. Rather, it is a time for umpires and players to come
together in the best interests of the game."
Phillips said umpires decided in a meeting 10 days ago at Palm Springs, Calif., that players would be elected for even minor violations.
"There are many rules that while they do not require ejection, allow ejection for even the slightest violation," Phillips said. "The umpires feel they've been too tolerant."
As an example, Phillips said the rules on the speed of the game would be rigidly enforced. Pitchers
are required to throw a pitch within 20 seconds when no runners are on base, but the rule hasn't been followed for many years.
Umpires called for a code of conduct to be developed at a meeting last month, but the players' association will not agree to specific penalties for specific infractions.
"They will tell players to get in the box," Phillips said. "If the player doesn't get in the box, they'll call for the pitch. If the player objects, he will be eiected."
Cal Ripken misses game with injury
The Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If it happened during the regular season, the news would have been shocking: Cal Ripken was scratched from the Baltimore Orioles' starting lineup yesterday because of an injury.
Ripken strained his left groin hours before the Baltimore Orioles' exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves.
He then aggravated the injury during infield practice and was removed from the starting lineup and replaced at third base by Willis Otanez.
Ripken, who has played in a major-league record 2,316 consecutive regular-season games, also is expected to sit out the Orioles' exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers today.
But he said the injury was not serious.
Ripken, 36, said he would have been in the lineup if the injury would have occurred during the regular season.
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