THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 22, 1995 TAG: 9502220384
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: BASE CLOSINGS:
THE FINAL ROUND
What's at stake for Hampton Roads?
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
Tommy Atkinson has been in the sporting goods business 12 years, nine of them at his current location - at Oceana East Center, a stone's throw from the gates of Oceana Naval Air Station.
Should the base close, Atkinson and his wife Judy see hard times ahead. Their store gets 40 percent of its business from the base.
Already, as jet squadrons are retired and military downsizing leaves more empty spaces on Oceana's flight line, Atkinson is seeing a shrinkage in his business' bottom line. Even the Navy's oldest squadron, one of his customers, will be retired soon.
``I used to do softball and all their team equipment for every one of 'em,'' he said. ``They downsized, and there are no more `Top Hatters' or things like that.''
Few people close to the process believe Oceana will be ordered closed in this year's round of base closings. But at the strip centers and shops near Virginia Beach Boulevard and First Colonial Road, the prospect is as hot a topic of discussion as when it first was considered, during the 1993 round.
Atkinson is clinging to what he can from Oceana, having lost not only sales of softball equipment but business from other sports at Oceana that had helped him prosper - flag football, volleyball and basketball.
``We still do a little bit out there, but not like we did,'' he said. ``There have been a lot of changes. These bigger outfits have come in here, like the Sports Authority, and that's hurt me as far as bats and gloves and stuff like that are concerned. I used to sell a ton of that stuff.''
To keep revenues coming in, Atkinson - like many business operators, small and large - has dispatched a sales representative, seeking new customers. He has focused on other military bases and had some success, picking up Little League and recreation league accounts.
But there's no disputing that Oceana's personnel still keep the cash register ringing at Tommy Atkinson Sports.
You'll hear the same story down the street at Plaza Pawn on First Colonial.
``Our business is definitely tied into the base,'' owner Ray Hogan said. ``That's why we painted that F-14 on the side wall outside.''
He estimates Navy personnel at Oceana provide 35 to 40 percent of his business - loans on property, truck rentals and even auto repairs out back. He soon will add a used-tire section.
``The military folks are important,'' he said. ``I just hope people around here realize that. I love to hear those jets flying around. I'd like to see a change in policy on downsizing. Obviously, we don't want to see 'em go.''
Across the street, car dealer John Vest insists he is almost totally dependent on Oceana patronage. ``I'm going to guess that 85 percent of our business comes from the base,'' he said. ``We also sell to civil service people there.''
Vest's business includes an auto body shop, detailing, and auto insurance. For 14 years he has been selling used vehicles to sailors - from lowly Navy E1s to ranking base officers and their families.
``We sell 'em second, third and fourth cars - usually for their kids,'' he said. ``That's what keeps us alive. If the base closes, we'll become a ghost town.''
At the Red Baron Inn, a neighborhood beer bar on the corner, the modern Navy's discouragement of drinking has had the impact of a base closing. Military business has plummeted since the 1960s, said manager Edward Fisher.
``In the old, old days it was like 80 percent,'' he said. ``But since the military has really cracked down on alcohol, I would say it's in the neighborhood of about one-third.''
Fisher says a big part of his business these days is the breakfast crowd on the early-bird shift at Oceana. They are the ones who get off at 6 a.m. and are looking for a brew and a bite before going home to bed.
``We usually get the people who work all night long - the night checkers,'' he said. ``And I'm the only bar open at that time. That's where I usually get my food people from.''
Many businesses in the area are less dependent on military traffic. Some even find it annoying.
``If the base closed, there'd be a lot less noise,'' said Steve Steadman, owner of Atlantic Print & Graphics on First Colonial Road. ``There aren't very many military people who come in here.''
The business that's now Aydlett's Tailor Shop, a fixture near the corner since World War II, was created for Oceana's aviators by an enterprising woman.
Now, the shop caters to women and counts few of Oceana's personnel among its customers.
Fifty years ago changes in Navy operations were forcing shop owners to look elsewhere for business.
``When the war was declared was the day she opened the shop,'' said Sarah Aydlett, the shop's current owner. ``She got a lot of Navy business, but then they put tailors on the base and she didn't get any business.'' ILLUSTRATION: PHOTOS BY PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Tommy Atkinson, who operates a sporting goods business a stone's
throw from Oceana, says he gets 40 percent of his business from
Oceana personnel.
Ray Hogan of Plaza Pawn also gets up to 40 percent of his business
from Oceana. ``That's why we painted that F-14 on the side wall
outside,'' he said.
KEYWORDS: MILITARY BASES BASE CLOSINGS
by CNB