THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
Gov. George Allen says he would love to see the Canadian Football League succeed in Hampton Roads and won't rule out providing aid from the state's economic development fund for the CFL Pirates, who have relocated to Norfolk from Shreveport, La.
Allen, in town to watch a Hampton Roads Admirals hockey game over the weekend, said he has spoken with Pirates coach Forrest Gregg, whom he met when his father was coaching in the NFL.
A source with the Pirates said Gregg contacted Allen to discuss state aid for renovating Foreman Field and state leadership in marshaling regional support for the Pirates. Allen would not confirm that is what they discussed.
``I talked to Forrest Gregg. I know Forrest Gregg and have a great deal of respect for him,'' Allen said. ``As far as what the state might do in any of this, I'm not at liberty to say. . . . Economic development is a top priority of my administration. Our policy is to not make comments on any prospective economic development opportunity one way or another.
``As for any sort of effort by the state, . . . we would have to look at what the investment will cost and what are the jobs that will be returned on the investment and whether the investment will be secure. That applies to Gateway computers coming into Hampton, to Avis coming into Virginia Beach and all the rest.''
Nonetheless, Allen clearly is enthusiastic about the CFL in Virginia, including a proposed move of the Baltimore Stallions to Richmond.
``I think it would be beneficial to have a CFL team here in Hampton Roads. I would hope they (the Pirates) would have support here,'' he said. ``This was something I brought up during my (1993 gubernatorial) campaign. I said that I thought Hampton Roads should try to get into the CFL.
``The media in Hampton Roads have done an outstanding job in analyzing the pros and cons of all of this. But the sports writers in Richmond are almost snobbish about the CFL and I'm not sure why.
``I think Canadian football is an exciting sport. . . . I think they will find it a very entertaining brand of football. There's more scoring. The field is wider and the game is more wide open. There are no fair catches, and every punt return is an adventure in the Canadian Football League.''
Allen said he is in favor of the Pirates playing at Foreman Field, which is owned by Old Dominion University, a state institution.
``Why not use that facility? It that makes sense to utilize it,'' he said. ``I think the folks at ODU understand they should be reasonable in making this facility available'' to the Pirates.
Allen, a former University of Virginia football player, learned about the CFL while his father worked briefly for the Montreal Alouettes, whom the elder Allen attempted to purchase a year before they went out of business.
``The problem there was they couldn't get a clear bill of sale. If they bought the team, all they were going to get was a bunch of lawsuits from all of the people they hadn't paid off,'' Allen said.
``There's plenty of football talent available for another league,'' he said. ``You see so many of the players who were in the USFL who since it folded are doing well in the NFL. Kelvin Bryant and Doug Williams. Reggie White was with the Memphis Showboats, Steve Young was with the L.A. Express and Jim Kelly was with Houston. . . .
``The great thing about the American teams in the CFL is that there are no restrictions on how many Americans they can sign. They (the Pirates) can get players from U.Va., Virginia Tech and so many other Virginia schools who don't make it in the NFL.
``Whether the fans will support it is something we'll just have to see. I know they're advertising on the radio for season tickets. . . . The ticket sale will be an early indication of whether they will succeed.''
Allen was coached as a freshman at U.Va. by Paul Fraim, now Norfolk's mayor, and would not say whether he has spoken with his ex-coach about the CFL. But a source in Norfolk confirmed that city and state officials have discussed the Pirates and prospective state aid.
The CFL, Allen said, can enhance economic development in Hampton Roads by giving the region more visibility, especially among prospective Canadian tourists. Though the CFL's telecasts in the United States are seen by an average of only 0.8 percent of the viewing audience, the league draws high ratings in Canada.
``There are a lot of Canadian visitors who come down here during the summer,'' said Allen, who often spends weekends during the summer at Camp Pendleton.
``Whenever I get a chance, I like to ride my bike. There are two campgrounds right down General Booth Boulevard from Camp Pendleton, and I always like to go through them to see where everyone is from. The majority seem to be Canadians. You see the flags from Quebec, Ontario . . .
``From time to time there are going to be games here on television. They'll end up showing the Norfolk area, they'll show Virginia Beach and other parts of Hampton Roads, as part of the broadcasts. There is a value to that. I don't know what that value is and how you can quantify it. It's not a primary but a secondary benefit.
``. . . I think more corporations will see this is a large market. They'll ask (the Pirates and the CFL), why did you select this market? They'll respond that there are 1.5 million people here, and it's a top 40 media market.
``A lot of people don't look at Hampton Roads as a region. They look at Norfolk as one area and Virginia Beach as another or Hampton as another. But it's one region. Hopefully, all of the municipalities will come together, and we'll see how the team draws.
``Clearly the Admirals draw well here at Scope and the Tides do well at Harbor Park. . . . If this team draws well, I would hope all of the area cities would come together and build a stadium.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Gov. George Allen
KEYWORDS: CANADIAN FOOTBALL by CNB