Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 26, 1994 TAG: 9403260084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Salem Buccaneers owner Kelvin Bowles may have found a contingency plan in the City of Roanoke should plans to build a new ballpark in Salem not develop as hoped.
Although Roanoke officials say the Bucs are Salem's until proven otherwise, they are not ruling out the possibility that Roanoke might build a park in order to keep the Carolina League team in the valley.
"If baseball is interested in coming to Roanoke, Roanoke is interested in baseball," Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said Friday.
"The idea of a new baseball field sounds good to me," Roanoke City Councilman Howard Musser said. "We've needed one. I don't know where one would go or where the money would come from, but it's something to think about. I want to see what Salem is going to do first, though. I don't want to preempt anything that they may do.
"If the people there want to build a new ballpark to keep the team, then they should be allowed to do so."
A referendum to gauge voter sentiment for a new ballpark in Salem is scheduled for sometime this summer. Until Salem's preference is revealed, Bowles says he has no intention of talking to anybody in Roanoke about a new facility.
However, there were reports this week that his lawyer, Bruce Welch, had met with Bowers and the subject of a proposed ballpark in the city came up. Sources said that a potential price tag of $6 million and a possible location in South Roanoke Park were discussed.
Roanoke councilmen William White, John Edwards, and Musser said that newspaper reports were the first they'd heard of any discussion of a new ballpark in South Roanoke Park.
The possibility of a new ballpark in Roanoke has come up before. Councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden unveiled a plan this winter for a ballpark that would adjoin the area next to the Hotel Roanoke project. An architect's rendering from HKO Sports of Kansas City was commissioned by Dale Wilkerson, who represented a group who made a failed bid to buy the Bucs from Bowles.
McCadden said he still favors such a location for a new ballpark should Bowles opt to move the team to Roanoke.
Councilman Edwards didn't rule out the idea of a new park in Roanoke should Salem's plans fall through, but he said that considerable study on the South Roanoke location would have to be done first. His concerns included cost, parking, and neighborhood impact.
Edwards also favors a project to install a multi-use indoor facility next to Victory Stadium and has discussed renovating the stadium itself.
"What do we need more, a facility like the field house that is more for the participatory athlete or something like a new professional ballpark, which would be for the spectator?" Edwards said.
Edwards had concerns about the proposed location next to Hotel Roanoke.
"I would not be in favor of something there unless people from the Gainsboro neighborhood wanted it," he said. "My understanding is that they would not."
White said he would not be in favor of building a new ballpark at the expense of other capital spending projects.
"I can't see spending several million dollars on a new ballpark and let other projects that have waited 25 years go," he said. "Of course, I have not been briefed on any of this and my opinion is subject to change."
Councilman Jim Harvey said that if a new park is to be built, he would support a cooperative venture.
"People from every jurisdiction in the valley will be going to the ballgames so the jurisdictions should share the cost," he said.
Salem officials, particularly Mayor Jim Taliaferro, have taken a dim view of a joint venture, citing the city's unhappy experiences with the commission that once ran the Salem Civic Center.
"We like to fly our own kites around here," Taliaferro said.
Instead, Taliaferro proposed the city and county contribute $1 million each "no strings attached" to a new park in Salem. The precedent he cited was Salem's similar contribution to the regional airport. Roanoke has been noncommital on the idea.
On at least one subject, Salem and Roanoke officials agree.
Said Musser: "The Salem Buccaneers are important to this whole valley."
by CNB