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	At end of stadium talks, Rowland rejected request for more time (Boston-AP) _ In one of the last maneuvers of the failed deal to move the New England Patriots to Hartford, Conn., team owner Bob Kraft on Thursday asked Connecticut officials to extend a Sunday deadline to back out of the deal without penalty. Connecticut Gov. John Rowland refused to grant the extension, and the $380 million deal was dead within 24 hours. In the aftermath of the negotiations _ which ended with Rowland promising legal action against Kraft and possibly the NFL _ details are emerging about the final round of talks between the governor and the owner. Kraft flew to Hartford on Thursday for a face-to-face meeting with Rowland. He asked the governor to extend a May 2 deadline, after which Kraft would have been liable for damages of up to $100 million if he backed out of the deal. He wanted another 30 to 60 days, apparently to pinpoint when the new stadium could be completed, The Boston Globe reported. Kraft had signed a tentative deal with Rowland in November to move the team to Connecticut after the state offered him a deal he seemingly couldn't refuse: a new stadium on the Hartford waterfront. But the deal had seemed on shaky ground as it appeared less and less likely that the stadium would be completed by 2002 _ the year insisted upon by Kraft. In a meeting with consultants on Thursday morning, Kraft was told Connecticut's chances of meeting the 2002 deadline were slim. There was no immediate decision, but Kraft and his associates thought another month or two could help in further assessing the plan's viability, the Globe reported, citing unidentified sources familiar with the negotiations. But Rowland feared the extension request could give Massachusetts more time to solidify a competing offer, or give the National Football League and Bay State lawmakers more time to try to kill the deal. So at Thursday night's meeting in Hartford, Rowland rejected Kraft's request, telling him instead "it was time to fish or cut bait." Kraft told Connecticut officials he would get them an answer in 24 hours, and the officials were optimistic. But by the next afternoon, the announcement had been made: The Patriots would not move south. In a letter to Rowland, Kraft said he was walking away because the construction of the stadium would likely be further delayed. Rowland's aides said the news came as a surprise in Hartford. "We were 98 percent sure the Patriots were going to go forward," said Rowland spokesman Dean Pagani. "They had presented no rational arguments for pulling out." Today's News Page. WTNH Home Page. ©1999 WTNH/WTNH-DT A LIN station.

At end of stadium talks, Rowland rejected request for more time
(Boston-AP) _ In one of the last maneuvers of the failed deal to move the New England Patriots to Hartford, Conn., team owner Bob Kraft on Thursday asked Connecticut officials to extend a Sunday deadline to back out of the deal without penalty.

Connecticut Gov. John Rowland refused to grant the extension, and the $380 million deal was dead within 24 hours.

In the aftermath of the negotiations _ which ended with Rowland promising legal action against Kraft and possibly the NFL _ details are emerging about the final round of talks between the governor and the owner.

Kraft flew to Hartford on Thursday for a face-to-face meeting with Rowland. He asked the governor to extend a May 2 deadline, after which Kraft would have been liable for damages of up to $100 million if he backed out of the deal. He wanted another 30 to 60 days, apparently to pinpoint when the new stadium could be completed, The Boston Globe reported.

Kraft had signed a tentative deal with Rowland in November to move the team to Connecticut after the state offered him a deal he seemingly couldn't refuse: a new stadium on the Hartford waterfront.

But the deal had seemed on shaky ground as it appeared less and less likely that the stadium would be completed by 2002 _ the year insisted upon by Kraft.

In a meeting with consultants on Thursday morning, Kraft was told Connecticut's chances of meeting the 2002 deadline were slim. There was no immediate decision, but Kraft and his associates thought another month or two could help in further assessing the plan's viability, the Globe reported, citing unidentified sources familiar with the negotiations.

But Rowland feared the extension request could give Massachusetts more time to solidify a competing offer, or give the National Football League and Bay State lawmakers more time to try to kill the deal.

So at Thursday night's meeting in Hartford, Rowland rejected Kraft's request, telling him instead "it was time to fish or cut bait."

Kraft told Connecticut officials he would get them an answer in 24 hours, and the officials were optimistic.

But by the next afternoon, the announcement had been made: The Patriots would not move south. In a letter to Rowland, Kraft said he was walking away because the construction of the stadium would likely be further delayed.

Rowland's aides said the news came as a surprise in Hartford.

"We were 98 percent sure the Patriots were going to go forward," said Rowland spokesman Dean Pagani. "They had presented no rational arguments for pulling out."

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