Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508160018
SECTION: DISCOVER ROANOKE VALLEY PAGE: 86 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
From cycling to hockey, a wide assortment of sports - both amateur and professional - are available in the valley to appease the sports enthusiast.
Salem welcomed a new minor-league baseball team in the spring. The Salem Avalanche, a class-A advanced affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, replaced the Buccaneers, a Pittsburgh Pirates farm club since 1987.
The Avalanche competes in the Southern Division of the Carolina League from April through September. The league includes eight teams from North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
The Avalanche plays a 70-game home schedule. Most of 1995 was spent at old Salem Municipal Field as the new $10 million Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium was being built. The team was expected to move into the gleaming new facility before the end of the 1995 season.
Most home games start at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $6 (box); $5 (reserved); $3 (general admission); $1 off for children 12 and younger and for senior citizens.
The Roanoke Express completed its second season in the East Coast Hockey League in April by posting a 39-19-10 record. Roanoke was eliminated by Richmond in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs and finished second in the East Division, one point behind the Renegades.
The Express, an affiliate of the NHL'S San Jose Sharks in 1994-95, averaged 5,591 fans for 34 regular-season home dates at the 8,372-seat Roanoke Civic Center.
Adult tickets range from $6 to $11. Tickets for students and senior citizens are $5, and children 12 and under are $4.
Other semipro teams include the Roanoke RiverDawgs soccer team (call 774-0062 for more information) and the Roanoke Rush football team. The RiverDawgs play their home games at Cave Spring Junior High and the Rush at Victory Stadium.
The Roanoke Valley and particularly Salem has earned a reputation as a venue for collegiate sports championships. Three NCAA national championships made their home in Salem in 1994-95 and more are in the works.
The title game for Division III football, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, has sold out in its two appearances in December of 1993 and 1994 at Salem Stadium, which holds more than 7,300 for the event. The Stagg Bowl matches the finalists of a 16-team national tournament and is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 this year.
Plans are in the works to keep the game at Salem Stadium through 1997. This year's event will kick off at 1 p.m. on Dec. 9. Tickets are available through the Salem Civic Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations.
The Division II softball national championship provided plenty of fast-pitch action for four days in May at Salem's Moyer Complex. Next year, Division III will return for the second time in three years.
In late May, Salem Municipal Field was the site of the Division III baseball world series. The event will shift to Salem's new baseball park for 1996 and 1997. In March of 1996 and 1997, the four-team finals of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament will be played at the 5,800-seat Salem Civic Center.
The premier cycling event in America, the Tour DuPont, has also rolled through the Roanoke Valley the past two years and is expected to return in May of 1996.
The terrain in Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem has provided a rigorous route for an individual time trial, and has proved to be a major turning point in the 12-day event.
Blacksburg has also played host to stage finishes of the Tour DuPont. This year, more than 30,000 fans gathered on the campus of Virginia Tech to watch American Lance Armstrong capture the stage victory en route to the overall title.
In July, amateur athletes flocked to the Roanoke Valley to compete in the Commonwealth Games of Virginia, sponsored by Roanoke-based Virginia Amateur Sports.
The Games, in their sixth year, featured 44 sports, allowing participants and fans the opportunity to view a variety of events ranging from archery to wrestling.
The Roanoke Valley Horse Show, the largest multibreed show in the state, is one of the most popular events of the summer. The show, held in June at Salem Civic Center, attracts the country's top horses and riders. The weeklong event is punctuated with the Grand Prix of Roanoke jumper competition, which boasted a purse of $50,000 this year.
The Moyer Complex in Salem plays host to several national softball tournaments in the summer. The USSSA (United States Slowpitch Softball Association) men's Major World Series Qualifier was in July and the National Softball Association (NSA) men's Fastpitch World Series will be Aug. 11-13.
Salem Civic Center has been home to the the Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament for 15 years. The men's tournament will take place Feb. 17-19, 1996 and the women's event Feb. 22-24, 1996.
Salem Civic Center will also serve as host to the Virginia High School Group A and AA girls' basketball championships Dec. 1-2, and the Group A and AA state wrestling championships March 1-2, 1996.
The Roanoke Valley offers several opportunities for auto racing fanatics. Franklin County Speedway in Callaway holds races on Saturdays from April through September in Late Model, Street Stock, Mini Stock, Pure Stock and Rookie divisions. New River Valley Speedway in Radford also features Saturday NASCAR-sanctioned races in Late Model Stock, Limited Sportsman, Modified Mini Stock and Pure Stock divisions.
Besides a full schedule of high school athletics, there are many colleges in the area that offer a variety of sports. Among the colleges within a two-hour drive are Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia Military Institute, Radford, James Madison, Roanoke College, Washington and Lee and Ferrum.
Other events that give Roanoke sports fans plenty of spectator options include: the Crestar Roundball Classic, the Nationsbank Holiday Hoops Classic, the Crestar Festival Soccer Tournament, the Scott Robertson Memorial Junior Golf Tournament and the Chance Crawford Benefit Slow-Pitch Tournament.
by CNB