ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230099
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Roanoke Valley residents have seen it before. But this weekend, it's even bigger.
Area hotels will be booked solid. The fast-food restaurants will be wall-to-wall cleats. The malls will be inundated with waves of matching T-shirts, adorned with colorful but unfamiliar inscriptions like ``Pocoshock,'' ``Yorktown Assault'' and ``Iredell Rowdies.''
Three weekends a year, when the Roanoke Star is host of a soccer tournament, the valley throws out its welcome mat, opens up its economic coffers and braces for an avalanche of soccer.
Saturday and Sunday mark the 10th annual Crestar tournament. A record field of 195 teams - representing states up and down the East Coast - will play. Nearly 30 soccer fields around the Roanoke Valley will be in use this weekend.
As the typical roster contains 15 players, and each player brings a parent or two, a sibling and some spending money, well, that's a lot of room service, Big Macs and mall traffic.
This year's tournament will feature considerable play on the recently completed Berglund Soccer Complex, a five-field facility adjacent to the Vinyard fields near Vinton.
``We've been talking about this complex ever since I got here,'' said Danny Beamer, who became Roanoke Star's executive director 10 years ago. ``It's great to actually see a tournament played on it.''
The nearly $400,000 project has been under construction for a couple of years. It was formally named this spring, when Berglund, a local automotive conglomerate dealership, pledged the necessary funds to put on the finishing touches. The new Berglund sign goes up this week.
Berglund's participation has been championed by general sales manager Dave Sarmadi, 37. Sarmadi is the father of three sons, two of whom are Roanoke Star soccer players. A native of Iran, Sarmadi played high-level soccer as a youth and recognizes the worldwide appeal of the sport.
``I've been around soccer all of my life,'' said Sarmadi, who also holds a black belt in karate. ``Soccer is a growing sport in this country. [At Berglund] we feel that by encouraging the play of soccer, we are helping kids stay off of drugs, keeping them away from trouble and encouraging good things.''
Berglund's substantial contribution was seen as a welcome relief to the Star, which has developed a number of creative fund-raising programs in recent years to help pay for the complex.
``When Danny came to me and asked if Berglund would help with the complex, I wanted to do it,'' Sarmadi said. ``We're interested in helping the community; and I'm a firm believer that by doing good things, they come back to you.''
Sarmadi's father was a doctor who died in 1981 while attempting to rescue motorists trapped in a tunnel in Iran. ``My father gave his life away helping others,'' Sarmadi said. ``Part of my duty is to help wherever I can.''
Sarmadi studied electrical engineering at Virginia Tech before coming to Berglund as a car salesman 11 years ago. ``I knew I always wanted to work in cars,'' said Sarmadi, who now supervises hundreds of employees at a handful of dealerships. ``But my father stressed education. He said, 'If you want to be a plumber, be an educated one.'''
Although Sarmadi's sons, Paykon, 10, and Kayvon, 8, will have the opportunity to play often at the new soccer complex, Sarmadi downplayed his company's contribution for his own family benefit. ``If I just wanted them to benefit, I would spend money for the best personal soccer trainer I could find,'' Sarmadi said. ``We're doing this for the community.''
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staffby CNBDave Sarmadi of Berglund Chevrolet was one of the driving forces
behind the establishment of the Berglund Soccer Complex near
Vinton.