THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510290192
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
People who support the idea of the Shreveport Pirates becoming the Hampton Roads Pirates are proposing that an unstable franchise from a struggling league be plugged into an unproven, unprepared sports community.
Does this sound like a recipe for success? Or like the blind date from hell?
Lonie Glieberman, affable boy owner, has lost $4 million a year on his franchise. Should we be flattered that he wants to lose his next $4 million here?
Best I can tell, some of the enthusiasm in Hampton Roads for this Canadian Football League franchise is mixed with a palpable sense of desperation.
The argument goes that since we don't have a major league sports operation, we need the CFL in the worst way. There could be some truth to that. But if we accept Glieberman's used franchise without looking under the hood and kicking the tires, we might, in fact, be getting a team in the worst way.
Even so, say local CFL boosters, providing Lonie with a new sandbox is a quick fix for our local inferiority complex.
This may be nothing but wishful thinking, but then, there's a lot of that going around lately. Some supporters of the CFL in Hampton Roads may even have deceived themselves into believing that if the Pirates make a go of it here for a couple years, one of our local municipalities will build them a $40 million stadium.
Now that's a good one. You can excuse Glieberman for not understanding Hampton Roads' legendary inertia. But some of us have lived here too long to play dumb.
In any case, it's all moot. The feasibility of using outdated, unsuitable Foreman Field. The time of year the CFL chooses to play. The viability of a league that is hemorrhaging money in two countries. Moot, moot, moot.
Lonie the Boy Owner will not lose his next $4 million in Hampton Roads. I can guarantee him that.
There are not enough football fans or spendthrifts living here who will pledge money for the 15,000 season tickets Glieberman says he would need to attempt his Hampton Roads venture.
If not 15,000, then what about 10,000?
Don't think so.
Glieberman cannot make the cost of his tickets modest enough to suit our price-sensitive communities.
When I talk with local business people I keep hearing that phrase used. ``This area is very price-sensitive,'' they tell me. As one person put it, ``We're a hamburger and hot dog kind of place.''
In other words, so I'm told, disposable income is very low.
In other words, good luck, Lonie.
But if this CFL idea gets flushed down the toilet, let's hope it's not at Foreman Field, where the plumbing system is problematic. The rest rooms are not ready for the crowds Glieberman dreams of attracting.
Maybe this is what Lonie meant when he said that playing there would create ``some short-term pain.''
After taking a tour of Foreman Field, Pirate officials said that the New Deal relic was better than they expected. What were they expecting, a gulag?
``There are going to be some logistical problems,'' Glieberman conceded. Then, brightly, he announced that Foreman Field is ``not incredibly horrible.''
Comments like these suggest a bout of self-delusion brought on by Lonie's own desperation. After all, the Shreveport Pirates need a place to land.
The CFL's great American experiment, remember, is only two years old, and already taking on water. Before Glieberman can hope to reap the benefits of that national television contract he insists is right around the corner, he must keep his franchise afloat. Where doesn't matter.
``It's like I always say,'' Lonie commented the other day. ``Anything's possible in the CFL.''
Take that any way you want. by CNB