ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 28, 1997 TAG: 9703280076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
The lottery is studying alternative fund-raising for a major league stadium in Northern Virginia.
Lottery officials will spend nine months coming up with a way to raise $14 million annually to fund a baseball stadium without cutting into other lottery revenue.
The Virginia Lottery already is committed to generating $348 million in the next fiscal year for state schools. Introducing a new scratch-off game dedicated to the proposed major league stadium in Northern Virginia would cut into other lottery sales, lottery director Penelope Kyle said.
Kyle suggested Wednesday that a state-sponsored television game show with a baseball theme might be the ticket instead. Gov. George Allen signed a bill Monday instructing the lottery to conduct a nine-month test starting in April 1998 to determine whether it can cover half of the stadium's $300 million price tag.
Virginia doesn't have a major league team, but baseball proponents say having a financial package in place for a stadium would put the region in the running the next time baseball expands, possibly in late 1999.
``We have to compete with cities like Charlotte, Portland, Mexico City and Nashville for an expansion team, and having this financing plan puts us one step ahead,'' said Michael Scanlon, executive vice president of the Alexandria-based investor group that is trying to buy a team.
State-sponsored lottery television shows have been successful in several states. In Florida, three people appear each week on ``Flamingo Fortune,'' competing for $600,000 in cash prizes. The state sells thousands of lottery tickets for a chance to be on the show.
The shows are proving popular with officials because they serve as a half-hour advertisement for lottery games while bringing in money from people trying to get on the programs.
Kyle said the lottery will interview potential players for a game show and will consider other options, such as new scratch-off games or a multistate lottery game.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB