HOLDEN TO ANNOUNCE FATE OF NEW MU ARENA

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden says he will announce Thursday whether he will sign legislation authorizing a new basketball arena for the University of Missouri at Columbia. School officials say their chances of a victory look good.

Holden has declined to say publicly whether he will sign the measure authorizing $35 million in state bonds to help finance the $75 million project.

A source close to the governor's office said Tuesday that Holden is expected to sign the measure.

Holden met Monday with University of Missouri system President Manuel Pacheco and Columbia campus Chancellor Richard Wallace.

"There was a lot of positive discussion that it was going to be signed, but three times in the discussion the statement was made, If I sign it,"' said university lobbyist Jim Snider. "So we're not assuming anything until he signs it."

Holden said he also intends, before Thursday, to talk with the private donor who has pledged $25 million toward the new basketball arena.

Sources told The Associated Press that the donor -- who remains officially unnamed by the university -- is Columbia businessman Bill Laurie, the husband of Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and the owner of Paige Sports Entertainment, which owns the St. Louis Blues hockey team.

Holden said his conversation with the donor is not critical to his support for the legislation.

"The important conversations are between my office and the University of Missouri and what they're doing long-term in their system," Holden said.

"With so much focus on the arena and its impact on the Columbia campus, it's a great opportunity for us to look out and say, where do we want the university to be 10, 15, 20 years from now in terms of its academic performance, and that's what I'm interested in," the governor added.

Holden used similar broad-based criteria when considering a new baseball stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals. He initially withheld support, but signed onto a $646 million project only after the Cardinals committed to specific plans to develop the area around the ballpark. That plan still needs local and state legislative approval to become reality.

State Sen. Ken Jacob, a sponsor of the university arena measure, said it differs from the Cardinals stadium because it involves a state-run facility. Jacob has long suggested that Holden will sign the legislation.

"I've never heard anything in anyway that would ever suggest that this project is in jeopardy," Jacob, D-Columbia, said Tuesday. "I've felt absolutely confident from the very beginning that this project would be approved by the governor."

Holden, near the end of the legislative session, expressed reservations about the university arena -- in part because of the state's tight finances.

But Jacob said Holden's prolonged deliberations are normal for such a project, and the tight finances provide even greater reason for Holden to sign the legislation.

"In tough times when there are good deals, that's when those deals are extra special," Jacob said.

University officials and some legislators have suggested that the donor could withdraw his $25 million pledge if Holden vetoed the arena legislation.

Supporters of the arena say the 29-year-old, 13,500-seat Hearnes Center is overbooked with Missouri Tiger sports events, concerts and other public events. The new 16,000-seat arena would be used for games and big concerts, while the Hearnes center would remain as a practice facility and alternative event center.

Athletic Director Mike Alden said a new arena also would boost the profile of the Tiger basketball program.

"What you've done is you've made a national statement ... that the future of the basketball program is extremely bright here at the state of Missouri," Alden said Tuesday. "It would greatly enhance our competitiveness and our recruitment."