Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 16, 1991 TAG: 9103190381
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Tickets were available (at first) only for the entire tournament. At $87 per book, many just couldn't afford them. Even at $24 for two games, many fans still couldn't justify the expense.
If single-game tickets had been available, sales would have improved. We may not have had a sellout, but there probably would not have been large blocks of empty seats.
Retail sales should have been easy to predict. With the country in a depression (not a recession), how could we expect Metro fans from out of town to purchase airline tickets, hotel rooms, meals and tournament ticket books, and still have money left over for unnecessary trinkets and souvenirs? We are all in the same economic boat, and it is leaking as fast as we can bail.
If the Metro Tournament had been held in another city, would Virginia Tech fans who attended be expected to buy everything in sight? I doubt it.
In short, no one should have anticipated the Metro to be a panacea for Roanoke's slumping economy. In the future, let's be more realistic in our expectations. There will be less disappointment. ED MONGER ROANOKE
by CNB