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

DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994                   TAG: 9402070258
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PULASKI SHOULD GET NEWS ON BASEBALL TEAM WITHIN 10 DAYS

The town of Pulaski should know by Valentine's Day whether it will join the Pittsburgh Pirates in baseball wedlock or be spurned in its attempt to bring professional baseball back to the New River Valley.

The Pirates organization will announce within 10 days whether it will place an Appalachian League team in Pulaski for the 1995 season, Pittsburgh minor league director Chet Montgomery said.

He said he hoped a decision would be made before Feb. 14, when he leaves for the Pirates' spring training camp in Bradenton, Fla.

An agreement was expected last month, but the Pirates' final decision has been delayed for a number of reasons, including the fact that the team may soon have new ownership.

Tom Compton, a town building inspector and one of the potential owners of a new professional baseball club, said he had not heard from the Pirates recently.

"Until I hear something [from Pittsburgh], I don't know any more than I knew a couple of months ago," said Compton.

Pulaski has been without professional baseball since 1992, when the Atlanta Braves ended their 10-year stay in the town's Calfee Park by moving their Appalachian League club to Danville.

The Pirates wanted to put a team in Pulaski a year ago, but the Appalachian League decided it would not expand unless it had two new franchises. When Beckley, W.Va., surfaced as a possible expansion site in December, the door was opened for the Pirates to come to Pulaski.

"[The Pirates have] spent two years trying to get into that league, and I'd hate to see it all fall through now," said Montgomery.

Another reason for the Appalachian League's 1992 decision to delay expansion was to determine if its existing ballparks met new standards spelled out in the Professional Baseball Agreement.

Calfee Park needs a new clubhouse and better lighting to meet those specifications.

Beckley, which does not have a ballpark, expects to spend $1 million to build a stadium complex on 30 acres of land donated by the state.

Pulaski would like to hear from the Pirates as soon as possible so it can complete work on Calfee Park. The Appalachian League president has said that both Pulaski and Beckley must show a commitment to securing major-league affiliations by June.

"[The Pirates] know we're under the gun here," said Compton.

by CNB