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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 11, 1995                   TAG: 9501110080
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CASSELL NEEDS MINOR REPAIRS

And, for a while this week, it appeared the Hokies' home might be headed for the disabled list, too.

In a routine periodic check Monday at Cassell Coliseum, Tech officials discovered a 28-foot wooden beam that runs between the roof's huge cross supports appeared to be loose or ajar.

``It kind of scared some people at first,'' said Don Perry, Tech's assistant athletic director. ``But in the end, it turned out to be kind of a false alarm.''

``Sometimes there can be shrinkage that causes the wood to get loose or crack where it adjoins the arch,'' Perry said. ``If the beam was cracked or broke, it could fall to the floor. If you dropped a marble from that high up it would be dangerous, much less a 28-foot beam.''

Tech officials summoned a structural engineer to Cassell on Tuesday. While the engineer assessed the problem, Perry, trying to cover all the bases, instructed associate athletic director Danny Monk to start looking for an alternative site for Thursday's Metro Conference game against Louisville.

``The engineer said, `Guys, it's not likely [the beam] would fall, but why take a chance?''' Perry said.

Monk contacted officials at the Roanoke and Salem civic centers, but both buildings were booked, Perry said.

In the meantime, the engineer had decided the best course of action would be to send a work force up to the Cassell roof today and reinforce the beam - ``there are probably 500 of them,'' Perry said - with a temporary support pin. Perry said the beam will be fixed permanently as soon as possible.

``Believe me, if we thought there was any risk whatsoever to anybody we wouldn't play Thursday at Cassell,'' Perry said.