
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 25, 1993                   TAG: 9306250276
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE LEADERS CONSIDER HIRING SPORTS DIRECTOR

Roanoke may need to hire someone to help recruit and coordinate special sports and recreational events to keep the city competitive with other localities, Mayor David Bowers says.

In light of what Lynchburg and some other cities in the Southeast are doing to attract events, Bowers said, Roanoke might need a sports coordinator.

Lynchburg has a full-time sports recruiter who is credited with getting a stop on the Tour DuPont bicycle race, a National Basketball Association exhibition game and other events.

Roanoke failed to get a Tour DuPont stop this year, but city officials hope to be a stopping or starting point next year.

The Commonwealth Games and the Roanoke Express hockey team are examples of the potential economic benefit of sports to the city, he said.

The city's Special Events Office and the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau do a good job in recruiting events, Bowers said, but they may need help with sports.

"It is something that we need to begin thinking about," he said. "I'm not ready to make a proposal yet, but it is something we should consider."

Councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden, who is credited with helping to save hockey in the Roanoke Valley, also has raised the possibility of hiring someone to seek out sports events.

McCadden, council's liaison to the Roanoke Civic Center, has proposed that the city hire someone to help book sports events and sell volume tickets to the business community. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

by CNB