THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410140258
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bill Reed
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The decision has been made.
No pari-mutuel racing in Virginia Beach - at least in the near future.
The whole caboodle is going to New Kent County, a largely rural, sparsely populated and underdeveloped area between Williamsburg and Richmond.
It's a place once commonly referred to as ``the boondocks,'' a playground for squirrels, raccoons, `possums and bunny-rabbits. Now folks up there can add nags to the list of animal life indigenous to the region.
Of course, Virginia Beach officials and tourist industry honchos are sorely disappointed by the Wednesday decision of the Virginia Racing Commission.
The reaction generally can be summed up by Virginia Beach restaurateur John Perros.
``Another dark day in the history of Virginia Beach,'' he said glumly. ``Maybe we'll hit a home run some day.''
City bureaucrats, business operators and politicians put a lot of effort into touting the Beach as the best site for a state horse track. They even put together a very handsome financial package to help Churchill Downs build an racing oval here.
The track was to have been one of a series of major attractions that would induce tourists to come to Virginia Beach and stay indefinitely.
The thinking was that folks could drive, fly or crawl to the Beach, sleep over at a resort hotel, eat at a resort restaurant, loll on the sand, then - when they wanted something else to do - go to the track, attend a concert at the yet-to-be-built amphitheater, play a round or two of golf at a yet-to-be-built, pro-level golf course and tour the Virginia Marine Science Museum.
Or, they could toddle off to Norfolk to visit Nauticus, see a ball game at Harbor Park, drive up to Busch Gardens or Colonial Williamsburg.
The idea is to provide more to do here so visitors would stay longer and spend more money. More tourist money would mean reduced property and real estate taxes for local folks and everybody, but a few chronic grumps, would be happy.
Not a bad plan, really, and still a valid one and city officials still are pursuing it vigorously, insists James B. Ricketts, director of the city's Department of Convention and Tourism Development.
As Perros indicated, the city has taken it in the shorts in a number of would-be ventures. It has come up empty handed on possible money makers.
In some instances local bumbling or inaction cost the city a coveted attraction.
One such item was a new ball park for the Tides, the Triple A baseball team that now resides comfortably in Norfolk's new and shiny Harbor Park. Too much council bickering and hand-wringing prompted the club owners to alight where they were welcome - in Norfolk.
Years ago, so the story goes, council foot-dragging sent developers of Busch Gardens packing to a site near Williamsburg.
Last year Dixie Stampede, a glorified dinner theater specializing in Civil War era costumes and horses was shot down like a ruptured quail because city officials didn't do their homework. They were ambushed by a contingent of local black residents who loudly protested the display of the Confederate flag in the daily shows. Not knowing whether to salute or go lay an egg, city officials dropped the project like a hot brick.
Then we have the Lake Gaston pipeline project, viewed as the answer to all our water problems. It is hopelessly enmeshed in bureaucratic red tape and litigation, which could drag on into the next century.
As a result Beach residents are on water rations and development of any kind - commercial, residential or recreational - is on permanent hold.
So when do we start turning things around, guys? by CNB