THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512030217
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TORONTO LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
Bernie Glieberman - rich, self-made, savvy, make that very rich - is determined to be the man to bring the Canadian Football League to Hampton Roads, a place he's never seen.
His primary business is building houses, and he's good at what he does, judging by his portfolio. Glieberman is worth more than $400 million; his construction empire is the second largest in metropolitan Detroit.
The football business, however, has been a smudge of red ink in his books. He lost more than $10 million in 4 1/2 seasons in the CFL - 2 1/2 in Ottawa and the last two in Shreveport, La.
Still, he's convinced his CFL Pirates will blossom now that he's moved them from Shreveport to Norfolk.
``I haven't been there, but our people went to that market many times before we decided to relocate,'' he said. ``We've done extensive market research. We have capable people there now putting together the season-ticket drive and working with local officials.
``I love the market because the problems we had in Shreveport don't seem to exist in Norfolk. The size of the population, weather, median income, Hampton Roads has it all.''
So, who is this guy, anyway?
Glieberman, a 57-year-old Detroit native, is a Reagan Democrat of Jewish heritage equally adept at dealing with Detroit's big labor, Democratic power structure and Michigan's conservative Republican governor. During a 45-minute interview sandwiched between sessions of CFL meetings that ended Friday, he was interrupted four times by calls on his cellular phone, most dealing with his construction business.
During one call, he deftly convinced a Detroit businessman to consider selling him a private jet. Glieberman, it would appear, thrives on the art of the deal.
He is talkative - prior to the CFL meetings he spoke for nearly 30 minutes nonstop to Canadian reporters - punctuated by hand gestures.
``You will never find Bernie lost for words,'' said Reginald Low, president of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. ``And most of us listen when he speaks.''
Glieberman's son Lonie, president of the Pirates, says his father is a very traditional man. ``I grew up marveling at his work ethic,'' Lonie said. ``He is driven to succeed, he's always on the move, he's very patriotic. He was always busy, but he was a good father. He was around for us when we needed him.''
Glieberman's drive apparently was forged in hard times. He was 17, midway through his senior year in high school, when his father died.
He graduated from high school, then took his father's place as a partner in a Detroit real estate firm. For three years he attempted to go to college and work full-time, but a bout with mononucleosis ended his hopes of earning a degree.
At 31, he bought out his partners, turned the modest real estate agency into a construction company and hit the motherload in suburban Detroit's housing boom during the 1970s.
Forty years after his father's death, he had built more than 5,000 homes and dozens of shopping centers throughout the Midwest.
Yet Glieberman has his critics, especially in Shreveport and Ottawa. Creditors of his CFL team say he's been slow to pay bills, a charge he doesn't deny. Ottawa sued Glieberman, and he has countersued over $254,000 the city claims it is owed.
One of Glieberman's classic cars, a 1948 Tucker Torpedo worth about $500,000, recently was impounded after a dispute over a contract with a sign company. The city of Shreveport also might demand repayment of $1 million the city gave to Glieberman because of the team's losses.
He claims to be on the right side of the law in Ottawa and Shreveport, and CFL officials agree. As for those who claim he pays too slowly, Glieberman says: ``We always pay our bills. Talk to the people in Ottawa. We didn't owe a dime when we left. That's our intention in Shreveport. Everyone who is owed money will be paid.''
Glieberman was roundly criticized in Ottawa, and to a lesser extent in Shreveport, for placing his son in control of those teams. Lonie was 22, fresh out of Michigan State, when named Rough Riders president.
``Lonie was young, but I don't know that he was too young,'' he said. ``He's a very perceptive young man. He knows sports. He loves the CFL. He has some learning to do. But to learn, you get in and do it and you learn. That's what I did.''
Bernie Glieberman learned quickly how to make waves in the CFL. He is one of the CFL's most powerful owners, the only U.S. member of the five-person executive committee that often sets the league's agenda. He's one of the few U.S. owners unabashedly in favor of retaining Canadian rules as the league has expanded into the United States.
``He's a true sportsman, a very respected member of the CFL whose opinions we value greatly,'' said John Tory, the CFL's chairman.
Added John Lipp, president of the Saskatchewan Roughriders: ``Bernie is always ready with an idea. He's not one to stand still. He brainstorms. He pushes the rest of us to think.''
In spite of that drive and his faith in the CFL, Glieberman said he will not play any role in the day-to-day operations in Hampton Roads. That will be left to his son, executive vice president Bill Haase and coach Forrest Gregg.
``I won't be very active at all,'' he said. ``It will be up to Lonie, Bill and Forrest to call the shots. I know business, but they know more about running a sports team than I do.''
Glieberman makes his first trip to Hampton Roads Monday, when he will appear with CFL commissioner Larry Smith at a press conference at the Norfolk office of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. Tuesday morning, after less than 24 hours in the new home of his CFL franchise, he'll fly back to Detroit and to his two main loves - home building and his 40 or so antique cars.
``I think there's room for another league in the United States,'' he said. ``Someday there's going to be one.''
With Hampton Roads as a major player.
``Joining the CFL will be a very beneficial situation for Hampton Roads,'' he said. ``Right now, hardly anybody in Canada has heard of Hampton Roads or Norfolk.
``The amount of exposure that will come from being in Canada is tremendous. Your tourist industry couldn't afford to buy that exposure. Your name will appear in newspapers and on television in Canada over and over.
``I see Hampton Roads in the CFL as a win-win proposition for everyone.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Bernie Glieberman, owner of the CFL's Pirates, says: ``Hampton Roads
has it all.''
by CNB