THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Old Dominion University and the CFL Pirates have made only nominal progress in their negotiations over Foreman Field, and sources say it's doubtful an agreement will be reached by Jan. 8, the deadline set by the Canadian Football League.
CFL commissioner Larry Smith has said he wants the Pirates to have a lease signed in time for a Jan. 8 conference call of owners so they can approve the team's relocation from Shreveport, La., to Hampton Roads. There won't be a vote until the Pirates have a lease to the 25,600-seat stadium, which is owned by ODU.
A source with ties to ODU who asked not to be identified said the university and the Pirates remain far apart on three major issues: stadium rent, concessions revenues and revenues from corporate advertising, such as signs and field logos.
ODU athletic director Jim Jarrett met Friday for the fifth time with Pirates president Lonie Glieberman and executive vice president Bill Haase. Jarrett confirmed they met and said they will meet again. Glieberman declined comment.
Smith, who met with Jarrett during a one-day trip to Hampton Roads on Dec. 4, said he's convinced an agreement will be made.
``It will happen because it will be good for everyone involved,'' Smith said. ``It's a win-win situation.
``Old Dominion will make some money and will benefit from having games televised from their campus and having thousands of visitors come to their campus.''
TV AND RADIO: Although the Pirates are at least a month away from signing local radio and television deals, sources say WGH 1310-AM, is the odds-on favorite to land the radio contract.
``We've met with the Pirates and obviously, there's a lot of interest on our part,'' said WGH programming director Pete Medhurst, whose station has a sports-only format.
WTAR is the only other local station with a large sports presence, and Glieberman has met twice with WTAR officials. But the schedules of WTAR's primary sports tenants, the Hampton Roads Admirals hockey team and Norfolk Tides baseball team, in part conflict with the Pirates schedule. WGH's major potential conflicts are with the Baltimore Orioles and Virginia Tech football, and Medhurst said any conflicts could be worked out.
WGH has begun negotiations to form a small network of stations to compensate for its relatively weak signal, similar to the deal it put together for ODU men's basketball with WGAI-AM, an Elizabeth City station.
Meanwhile, Pirates owner Bernie Glieberman says all 10 road games will be televised to Hampton Roads, including an exhibition, even though a maximum of three will be televised on ESPN or ESPN 2.
Lonie Glieberman met officials from a local TV station last week he says approached the Pirates about broadcasting their away games. He said he is contacting other stations about broadcast rights.
``We're in the early stages of letting the stations know who we are,'' he said. ``We're going to continue to talk as we learn more about the marketplace. In the new year we plan to get aggressive and hope to have the deals done by mid-winter.''
TRAINING CAMP: The Pirates are looking at six sites for their three-week summer training camp that begins in mid-June, including two on the Peninsula, coach Forrest Gregg said.
Virginia Wesleyan College, Camp Pendleton, Fort Story, the Norfolk Naval Base, Hampton University and the College of William and Mary are sites Gregg has visited or plans to visit.
Gregg said the Pirates might be housed at Virginia Wesleyan in Virginia Beach and practice at an adjoining practice field at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk. ``That's a great location,'' Gregg said of Wesleyan. by CNB