European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 a the stars and stripes wednesday March 11,1992money matters new mall will be biggest riskiest$70 million 400-store Center offers everything Bloomington Minn. A More steel than the Eiffel Tower. More than 2.5 million cubic feet of Concrete. Rivalling the worlds tallest office building in floor space. Welcome to the mall of America. With 400-plus stores 14 movie Heaters seven restaurants and five nightclubs its soon to become the nations largest shopping mall. A veritable $70 million amusement Park. There a one big question will it succeed other shopping and tourist spots Are struggling but the mall of America Hopes to thrive by offering everything a and developers mean everything a in a 4.2 million Square foot biosphere. When it opens aug. 1, the mails sheer size will a allow families to spend an entire vacation under a single roof a its promoters say while folks in the neighbourhood Stop by for videocassette recorders and sneakers. A i think you could Best compare it to a City a said Maureen Hooley spokeswoman for the mails developers. But retail Industry watchers believe the mails size could scare away people who have Only a Short shopping list. Some wonder if its enough of a tourist attraction to compete with the disc is of the amusement world. Then there a the timing. The mall was planned in the midst of the go go �?T80s, but it took so Long to build it was still going up when the Economy started going Down. Barring a Quick turnaround the ribbon cutting will come amid the twin cities worst retail climate in almost 20 years. A a it a a very risky project a said Sid Doolittle a partner with Chicago based retail strategists Mcmillan Doolittle. A i would guess that being on the Edge of a recession when it opens it increases the  a project of the triple five corp. Of Edmonton Alberta the mall was to be the worlds largest surpassing triple five a West Edmonton mall. But the Minneapolis mall which survived the bankruptcy of two Anchor or major tenants and the deaths of two construction workers has had to modify its design to comply with fire codes and financial reality. It eliminated 1 million Square feet and held off on some peripherals such As hotels and a Monorail to the nearby Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Melvin Simon amp associates an Indianapolis Developer that joined the project in 1987, is credited with making it More appealing to . Retailers. Melvin Simon the person also dabbles in movies a his production company put out the Porky films a and he owns with his brother Herbert the Indiana pacers of the National basketball association. Reality hit the mails main tenants starting in Early 1990, when Federated department stores inc. The Parent of Bloomingdale a filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. It emerged from court Protection last month just after . Macy amp co. Inc. Went into chapter 11. Hooley said neither bankruptcy was a matter of concern for the mall. A it should be a Doolittle said. A the smaller tenants have to see enough strength in the Anchor tenants to make it worthwhile for  but Whitney Peyton a vice president of cd commercial said the mails Deal with Bloomingdale a was a so Sweet that the bankruptcy court said a go  a a these Are survival deals a agreed John Berg a partner with accounting firm Coopers amp Lybrand who works with retailers. A the Damn mall is out of the ground a they can to Stop building it. And they  open it without those  Macy a said it still plans to be an Anchor for the mall. Meanwhile Hooley said the mall is 70 percent leased not including nearly 1 million Square feet committed to the four anchors which also include Nordstrom and Sears. A a we re Here for the duration a she said. A not the  and even though the trend in shopping centers these Days is toward Side of the Road strip malls the mails backers believe the area can support More stores. Promotional materials say 4.8 million people live within a 150-mile radius and 27 million within 400 Miles a a a Days drive from Chicago Milwaukee Kansas City to. Omaha neb. Or Winnipeg Manitoba. People Are coming already. Hooley said Simon a staff gives a dozen or so Tours daily to developers travel agents and government bigwigs. The mall expects to attract 40 million visitors annually by 1996 a More than Disney world Hooley said a with sales of $650 million in the first year and $1 billion by 1996.inside the mall of America four Hundred specially stores plus Anchor tenants Sears Nordstrom Macy s and Bloomingdale s. A Twenty six rides and attractions including a rollercoaster live theater and water ride at $1 to $2.50 each. The Park s Minnesota Motif includes log Cabins Pine Trees and references to Paul Bunyan. A fourteen movie Heaters. A eight customer service centers located at entrances providing interpreters wheelchairs baby changing stations cellular phone rentals and the like. A seven full service restaurants and two food courts. A five nightclubs including a country themed one owned by the Gatlin Brothers. A the Lego imagination Center a life size plastic factory where real adult Lego architects will create life size Lego space stations and circuses while children watch and developers Hope buy legos. A an 18-Hole miniature Golf course. A thirteen thousand parking spaces none More than 300 feet away from an Entrance. A its own trash recycling  Trump casinos file for bankruptcy Atlantic City . Up two of Donald Trumps casinos filed prepackaged bankruptcy plans monday after winning bondholders approval of measures to save interest expense. The Trump Castle and Trump Plaza took the same route As the Taj mahal which emerged from reorganization under chapter 11 of the Federal bankruptcy code within weeks of its filing last year. Both casinos filed for chapter 11 in . Bankruptcy court in Camden after holders of 77 percent of the Castle debt and 97 percent of the plazas approved the respective plans. The filing had been expected for several months. Cash flow problems at the three casinos since the glitzy Taj opened in april 1990 have been a major Factor in Trumps financial troubles. The Castle which has had the most difficulty generating enough Cash to meet its costs submitted a debt for equity Swap similar to the one used by the Taj. The Trump organization gives up a 50 percent share of the casinos Stock to the bondholders who Exchange debt securities paying 13-v4 percent interest for Bonds at 9vz percent. Under the Deal some of the interest can be paid in additional Bonds rather than Cash. The Plaza bondholders agreed to Exchange $250 million in 127/a percent Bonds for $225 million at 12 percent plus $75 million in preferred Stock. Although the agreements include management fees for Trump they also allow bondholders to oust him if the financial problems continue and include some restrictions on what he can do. The Castle and Plaza both operating under heavy debt loads saw revenues decline sharply when the Taj opened nearly two years ago. The three casinos were also Hurt by stagnant revenues in Atlantic City because of the recession and the persian Gulf War. Northwest revives Price cuts for 30-Day Advance air tickets new York apr the chaos in airline fare pricing took a new turn when Northwest airlines said it was bringing Back cheaper 30-Day Advance purchases that the Industry abandoned some time ago. Northwest said that beginning immediately it would offer the new non refundable Domestic fares which will provide savings of up to 10 percent for travellers who can plan their trips that far in Advance. Rivals were caught off guard by Northwest a announcement issued monday evening and had no immediate response. A a we la study it a said Marty hires a spokesman for american airlines. The move comes several Days before most of the nations Large airlines including Northwest Hope to push through a 2 percent fare increase for passengers who use the excursion fares that require less Advance Purchase Are non refundable and require a saturday night stay. Northwest said it still intends to raise the Price of tickets purchased 14 Days or 21 Days in Advance with the new 30-Day Advance tickets being cheaper than the 21-Day Advance tickets. Peter Hoult Northwest a executive vice president for marketing and sales said the airline Hopes to a bring new travellers into the  airlines now offer cheap fares for Leisure travellers on 21-Day, 14-Day and seven Day advances. Northwest said it intends to get rid of the seven Day Advance prices for Leisure travellers As of March 20, though it will keep seven Day Advance fares for business travellers. If rivals done to go along with Northwest a plan to scrap the seven Day Advance excursion fares Northwest will have to rethink that portion of its new fare strategy spokesman Jim Faulkner acknowledged. As an example of the savings offered by Northwest a plan the Price of a round trip ticket from Miami to san Francisco or from los Angeles to new York would fall from $549 on a 21-Day Advance Purchase to $498 on a 30-Day Advance Purchase. From Detroit to Seattle Tacoma International Airport the Price would fall from $488 for a 21-Day Advance Purchase to $468 for a 30-Day Advance Purchase. Northwest based in Eagan Minn., is not generally a pricing Leader but if it holds firm on the cheaper 30-Day fares rivals May be forced to match. Faulkner said Northwest will not Back off on the new fare Structure which the airline plans to make a permanent part of its business. A when you reduce fares it does no to really matter if they go along or not a Faulkner said. Other airlines including american United Delta Continental and Twa said monday evening that they had not yet seen Northwest a proposal so they could not comment on it. Ford introduces 4-Cam, 32-valve v-8 engine Dearborn Mich. Apr Ford motor co. On monday unveiled a new 32-valve version of the v-8 engine made famous by company founder Henry Ford six decades ago. The four Cam 4.6-liter modular engine will be manufactured at Fords Romeo Mich., Plant for use in the 1992 Lincoln Mark Viii said Robert Transou general manager of Fords powertrain operations. Earlier versions of the engine now Power the Lincoln town car Mercury grand Marquis and Ford Crown Victoria Transou said. When we reach full production of the four Cam few years Well be turning out about 130,000 units dually he said. A the engine also will be used in of vehicles in the  the announcement of the new v-8 engine Cionci monday with the 60th anniversary of Fords original horsepower v-8, which the automaker called a a a Fords last mechanical