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

DATE: TUESDAY, August 8, 1995                   TAG: 9508080073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IT WAS A BEGINNING THAT WOULD NOT END

Hours before Mayor Jim Taliaferro hurled Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium's first pitch toward home plate, almost everyone at the ball park was anxious.

Gloria Stinnett fretted that her crew of 10 wouldn't be enough to tackle the task of cleaning 6,000 seats before the gates opened.

Until the first game in the stadium ended in the 15th inning - 3-2 in favor of the Avalanche - the anxtiety continued.

Avalanche owner Kelvin Bowles mused he was ready to put Monday night's hand wringing and ceremony behind him.

Some fans, who started lining up 21/2 hours before the gate swung open, were like kids at Christmas, trying to sneak an early peak at the $10.1 million stadium.

And then there was the weather.

After an eight-day streak of temperatures topping 90 degrees and merciless sunshine, ominous clouds darkened the sky around the stadium Monday.

But actually, rain was the one thing people weren't anxious about.

"I wouldn't care if it was pouring rain right now, I'd still be here," said Carey Padgett, who arrived without an umbrella. "We're going to have a party in here no matter what."

Since the first load of dirt was hauled into the stadium last fall, the stadium has been part of the retiree's daily ritual. He would arrive around 8 a.m. and - with about five other "sidewalk superintendents" - watch the daily progress.

"We wanted to say we saw the first work done and the last work done," he said Monday afternoon.

Padgett wasn't the first fan in the park, nor did he get a chance to witness the last-minute touches.

It was 3:30 p.m. when area baseball legend Kid Carr, a part-time scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, chose his seat - a shade to the right of home plate. He was the first fan in, and the stadium wasn't quite ready for him.

The paint in the stairwells still was drying, the concession stands weren't open, the souvenir kiosk wasn't in place - and Tammy Goad hadn't had a chance to dab the mud from the bright blue seat the 88-year-old Carr chose.

But before he settled in, though, Goad got the chance to properly prepare Carr's seat.

Then Carr watched as the cleaning crew hustled around him.

"At Municipal Field they only needed six of us. Here they're going to at least need 30," said Goad, who was to return this morning at 6 to start the cleaning process again.

An hour later, Memorial stadium's first line had formed, and Padgett was in it. The last standing-room-only tickets had been sold, the Rolling Stones were blaring on the sound system - and Civic Center Director Carey Harveycutter was wheeling an Avalanche employee, who was standing on a rolling cart, down the stadium concourse posting signs on the concession stands.

Harveycutter cut his vacation a day short to get back in time for the opening. He admits that helping out with the baseball stadium isn't exactly in his job description, but "when the city looks good, we all look good. We're all in this together," he said.

The countdown began seconds before 5:30 p.m. "Three, two, one ... " the crowd chanted. The gates swung open, and the fans poured in.

Some ran, others cheered. Some came with seat cushions, others clutching umbrellas.

But no one seemed destined to stay in his or her seat. They wanted to explore.

Paul Roe of Roanoke planted himself on a preferred viewing spot - the concourse just above the reserved seats - and watched the players warm up and clouds drift over the mountains in the distance.

"I'm just looking at the details. I'm very impressed," he said.

Daisy Phillips of Elliston thought she was arriving early when she pulled into the the parking lot at 6 p.m. But the grounds that host the Salem Fair were covered with cars.

She wound up with a parking space five rows from the back of the lot.

Randy Williams of Salem also thought he was ahead of the crowd when he got to the stadium a half-hour before the first pitch.

But by 7 p.m. he was stuck in a food line. From there he could barely make out the debut of the Avalanche Sports Nut - the team's new mascot that arrived by helicopter - or Salem City Council's beaming waves to the crowd from the field, or Taliaferro's first pitch.

When asked what he thought of the stadium, Williams responded, "I haven't seen much of it. All I've seen is this line."