Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994 TAG: 9402160039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX and JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Salem City Council voted unanimously Monday night to wait until after budget talks in May to decide whether to transfer the lease for Municipal Field to New Yorker Eric Margenau, who wants to buy the Bucs.
The Carolina League season starts April 7.
That would appear to jeopardize approval of the sale by the Carolina League's board of directors.
The sale is scheduled to be closed Feb. 28, and Margenau still hopes it will go through.
But, Bowles said, "I don't think that the league will approve a sale to a man who does not have a ballpark to play in."
League president John Hopkins declined comment.
"I have nothing to say until I know what the two parties in the sale want to do," he said.
So unless Salem officials change their minds - and there was no indication Tuesday they would - Bowles thinks the sale is off.
"With everything in limbo as it is, then I won't be agreeable to extending the deadline for closing," he said. "If the sale is voided, then I'm not going to look for another buyer."
Margenau, who was outraged at being rebuffed by the council twice in three weeks, had little comment except to say he would be consulting his lawyers. Tuesday, he said that he still wanted to do business in Salem.
Both Margenau and Bowles have contended that a new ballpark must be built to replace aging Municipal Field. Council wanted to discuss the prospect of a new facility and the change of ownership at the same time. Financing the ballpark would likely involve a bond issue, Salem Mayor James Taliaferro said, so council should wait until budget season to discuss it.
Margenau wanted the issues of the lease and the new park dealt with separately.
"This is not aimed at blocking any sale," Taliaferro said. "We want to tie everything together at one time. I guess we're just not comfortable to make a change, really. I found out about the sale by reading the newspaper. Since then, we've been on a panic course trying to resolve everything."
Bowles said, "If this deal does not go through and I'm still the owner and they don't build a ballpark, then I would have to sell the team to somebody who would move it somewhere. Either that, or I'd have to [move the team] myself. But I don't want to do that."
The best case as far as council is concerned, it appears, would be for Bowles to retain ownership.
Bowles has been "excellent to work with over the years," Taliaferro said Tuesday. "He not only did everything he said he would do, but more."
So doesn't this decision punish him?
"Not intentionally," the mayor said.
Taliaferro had written a letter to the Carolina League in December saying the city was opposed to absentee ownership.
Bowles said he thought that problem had been overcome.
Apparently not.
"Don't take it personally - you don't live here," Taliaferro told Margenau during Monday's proceedings. "I'd rather take our time and get the thing done in a timely fashion. We need a little more time . . . to see if we're going to struggle to keep baseball here or not."
This was the second time Margenau had traveled from New York to Salem in three weeks after being told at the Jan. 24 council meeting that a background check would be necessary before council would approve the lease transfer.
A local group has been trying in vain to negotiate with Bowles to buy the team. Bowles would not negotiate because he said talks with Margenau were too far along. Dale Wilkinson, who is spearheading the local group, surfaced again Tuesday.
"If Kelvin Bowles wants to sell that team for a reasonable price, then there is a qualified group right here in Roanoke that wants to buy it," he said. "That is the solution, and nobody seems to see it."
Margenau sought to meet with Taliaferro on Tuesday, but the mayor was in meetings and could not meet, further angering Margenau.
Instead, Margenau went to the Bucs' office to continue budget planning meetings with general manager Sam Lazzaro.
"He was a lot cooler than I would have been, had I been in his position," Lazzaro said.
Although it had been suggested that Margenau could move the team out of Salem this season, that does not appear viable.
"We've already sold a lot of tickets and a lot of advertising here," Lazzaro said. "Trying to sell tickets, advertising, and get ready somewhere else, and refund the money here, would just be a nightmare."
Margenau, a sports psychologist, has bought and sold several teams since entering baseball in 1986. He has interests in teams in Columbia, S.C., and Fort Wayne, Ind.
"That might indicate someone who buys teams and doesn't stay around very long," Taliaferro said.
Margenau insists he has no intention of moving unless forced to by inadequate facilities. "We want to be in Salem," he said.
As part of the city's background check, Forest Jones, assistant city manager, talked to the mayors of Fort Wayne and Columbia. They gave Margenau good references, as did John Spelius, Midwest League president, and John Moss, South Atlantic League boss.
by CNB