Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506080076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The new date is July 25, which will coincide with the start of a six-game Salem Avalanche homestand that includes three games each against the Prince William Cannons and Kinston Indians.
``We think that July 25 is realistic,'' said Forest Jones, Salem's assistant city manager.
The Avalanche had hoped to be in the new 6,000-seat, $10 million ballpark by the start of the second half of the Carolina League season June 20.
``We've had problems getting the railings from the manufacturer,'' Jones said. ``It's not the architect's fault, it's not the contractor's fault, it's not the City of Salem's fault.''
Railings are a safety feature, and Jones said the stadium will not open until it is free of all liability concerns.
An open house to show off the new facility to the public is scheduled for July 23.
``What people have to remember is that we tried to do something [build a stadium] in months that most people do in years,'' Jones said.
Although no Avalanche officials have offered much criticism of the construction process, it does appear the delays have hurt the team - at least in the short term - in a number of ways.
For one, attendance has been down, and team officials think that the decline has something to do with the ballclub still being at Municipal Field.
``If you're going to have a party, you don't have it until just before you're going to move, you wait until you move into the new place to have the party,'' Avalanche owner Kelvin Bowles said. ``You wouldn't have the party at the old place.
``I think that people are just waiting for us to get into the new place.''
In the first two months of this season, a total of 27,781 fans attended 21 games, an average of 1,322 per contest.
In 1994, by contrast, 53,582 attended 28 games, an average of 1,913 per game. The figures were 51,437 for 24 games in 1993, an average of 2,143.
The No.1 reason for the attendance decline is the lack of ``giveaway nights'' this season, Salem general manager Sam Lazzaro said. Such promotions in the past have involved an advertiser buying out the ballpark and giving away all the tickets.
``We had stopped doing that in anticipation of moving into the new ballpark, '' Lazzaro said. ``We won't be doing any more of those in the new place at all. Maybe people have waited around for one of the giveaway nights this year, and when there haven't been any, the people didn't come out.''
There are other reasons for the drop in attendance.
``We have people who have already bought season tickets yet are waiting until we get into the new ballpark,'' Lazzaro said. ``It's more than a handful.
``There is another group we've talked to who say that they want to remember Municipal Field as it was when we closed it last year. They wanted to remember it in a positive light, with the team [the Buccaneers] coming back and winning on a home run in the last at-bat.''
Lazzaro also mentioned the weather and the team opening on the road.
``We purposely wanted to be scheduled on the road to open the season so we'd have more time to open the stadium,'' Lazzaro said. ``We've had horrible weather, too. The nights it didn't rain, it's been cold.''
The team's budget is out of whack now because it had been prepared with projections based on being in the new ballpark. Those same projections were given to advertisers.
``That's come back to haunt us because we've had to give some refunds,'' Lazzaro said.
by CNB