Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 22, 1993 TAG: 9312220188
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I was shocked," said Evelyn Bethel, president of Historic Gainsboro Inc.
She questions whether a baseball/football stadium at Shenandoah Avenue and First Street would be compatible with the neighborhood.
Bethel has led a fight against the widening of Wells Avenue and the realignment of Second Street and Gainsboro Road to provide better access to downtown and the hotel. She contends that traffic on the two four-lane streets would disrupt the neighborhood.
A stadium, which would be one block from residential streets, would bring even more traffic to the neighborhood.
Bethel said the stadium proposal should be scrapped if it doesn't conform architecturally, culturally and historically with Gainsboro.
She said it could affect the Henry Street revival project.
Former Mayor Noel Taylor, chairman of the Henry Street committee, said Tuesday that McCadden has proposed an unusual spot for a ballpark. But he does not think the city should rush to judgment on it.
Taylor said a stadium would conflict with parts of the Henry Street revival plan proposed last week by Virginia Tech students.
But he said it is too early "to make a judgment call" on what is best for the city.
"That is a very valuable piece of land. We should not rule anything out," said Taylor, who has been the driving force behind the Henry Street project.
"We have a number of projects over there, and the jury is out on what would be the best use of the property," Taylor said. "It is a decision for City Council."
Henry Street was once an area where black restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and other businesses thrived.
A stadium with a running track would be a boost for the Henry Street project, not a deterrent, McCadden said.
McCadden envisions shops and restaurants along the old Henry Street, now First Street, backing up against the stadium.
"You've got to have a reason for people to come to Henry Street," McCadden said. "You need more to do there, and this would help attract people."
He said a ballpark would tie together all of the proposed development around the Hotel Roanoke - hotel renovation, conference center, pedestrian bridge, street improvements and Henry Street.
McCadden plans to make a presentation about the stadium soon to the Historic Gainsboro and Henry Street revival groups.
City Manager Bob Herbert has declined to comment on the proposal, saying he has not been asked to make a recommendation on it.
by CNB