Moreover, the first national chain to show up in a town sometimes is offered a sweetheart lease - a very low rent for the first few years - by landlords eager for a prestigious new store.

Teams with sweetheart leases in new stadiums, like the Cleveland Browns, or those that own their stadiums, like the Redskins, garner large sums from luxury suites, club seats, parking and concessions.

The sponsor had surrendered control early, ostensibly to let the board terminate some "sweetheart leases" connected with commercial space in the building.

In fact, many orchestras and teams perform in buildings that were built with considerable government backing, and many receive subsidies (from government-financed arts councils, for example, or through sweetheart leases).

Berra should get over the firing, and next year walk back into a stadium that is owned in part by tax-paying Yankee fans, not the man who holds its sweetheart lease.

"In a nutshell, they were giving themselves sweetheart leases on commercial retail space and parking facilities in the building at a time when they were still in control of the board."

Thanks to his sweetheart lease at PSINet Stadium, he has the cash to lavish on players that he never had before.

Frontiere took the team to her hometown, St. Louis, where a new domed stadium awaited with a sweetheart lease.

In some buildings, for example, the conversion sponsor may have retained control over the parking garage under a "sweetheart lease."

But Schott said he would prefer some sort of "sweetheart lease" on the East Bay and "creative financing" that would provide for private money to build a new stadium.