ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 2, 1996 TAG: 9607020061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
The Virginia Lottery will say by Dec. 1 whether the state can afford to build a 45,000-seat baseball stadium for a major league team in Northern Virginia.
The deadline was set Monday by the special General Assembly committee studying stadium financing, and likely means the issue can't be resolved until the full legislature meets again in January 1997.
According to the committee's final report, which was released but not formally approved Monday, the state would have to pay about $14 million a year for 30 years to build the stadium. Another $13 million would be paid by the team owners through ticket sales and operating revenues.
Lottery officials will report by Dec. 1 whether a new game could raise the state's portion of the costs without cutting into lottery revenue used for education and other general government expenses. The answer will be a key factor when a financing plan goes before the full legislature next year.
A Northern Virginia investment group is hoping to purchase the Houston Astros this summer and move them to Washington's Robert F. Kennedy stadium next season. The team would play in Northern Virginia once a new stadium is built, perhaps as early as 1999.
The group had hoped for the state's financing commitment this summer as well. But financing talks also have snagged on whether the state should guarantee the $200 million loan needed for stadium construction.
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB