ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 16, 1996 TAG: 9601160058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
CASSELL COLISEUM is ready to be used again after crews remove tons of snow and ice from its roof.
The Virginia Tech men's and women's basketball teams get their Cassell back today.
The Hokies' home, Cassell Coliseum, officially comes off the disabled list today after being knocked out of commission for 10 days by nearly 4 feet of snowfall.
Aided by mild temperatures Monday, workers finished clearing tons of snow, ice and water off the building's roof, which had begun to show signs of stress from the weight.
The Tech men's team, forced to move its past two home games to Radford and Roanoke, respectively because of Cassell's closing, will be back on its home court at 7 p.m. Thursday against Dayton. Coach Bill Foster's club, forced to work out in the school's crackerbox auxiliary gym the past two weeks, will practice at 3 p.m. today at Cassell.
``That's great news,'' said Bill Foster, the Hokies' coach. ``There's nothing like being at home, for games or practice. That back gym was not exactly your ideal environment for practice.''
Don Perry, Tech assistant athletic director, said construction workers stabilized a roof purlin Monday that had been dislodged by the weight of the snow and ice.
Perry said the recent avalanche of snow and ensuing high winds that shifted the weight load were too much for Cassell's 33-year-old roof.
``Had we not had so much snow, we wouldn't have had a problem,'' Perry said. ``We've gone all these years with no problems. But when you get something that big, it just scares everybody.''
Fearing the worst, Tech officials decided to move the Tech men's games against La Salle (Saturday) to Radford University's Dedmon Center and George Washington (Monday) to the Roanoke Civic Center.
Perry said barring another ``abnormal snowfall,'' Cassell should be fit for the rest of the season.
``It will have to be another big [snowfall] to knock us out,'' he said. ``Your normal 8- to 10-inch snow won't do it.''
Perry said the school will be accepting bids soon on a complete overhaul of the coliseum's roof. The project, which will cost about $1.5 million, will start in the spring.
``This is a good time for us to do this and we're going to bring it back up to 100 percent structurally strong,'' Perry said. ``We'd liked to have done this a couple years ago, but you're talking well over $1 million. And when you're doing something like that, you do it when you have funding, as long as you feel safe with what you've got.''
Foster's Hokies haven't played at home since Dec.18. Carol Alfano's women, who return home Jan.25, played their last game at Cassell on Dec.30.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 linesby CNB