THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170541
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB AND HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
Norfolk and Virginia Beach city leaders said Tuesday that they would not commit public funds to the Canadian Football League Pirates, a move that likely ends the team's hopes of making Hampton Roads home.
``It was decided that the long-term interests of the citizens of Hampton Roads would be better served by pursuing other professional and amateur sports opportunities,'' according to a joint statement released by both city councils.
If that message was not clear enough, Beach City Council member W.W. Harrison Jr. said Tuesday night: ``Thank you for your interest in our community, but we have higher aspirations.''
The councils decided not to pay $400,000 to fix up Foreman Field, where the Pirates had hoped to play. Instead, the Beach council said, it wants to pursue a major league basketball or hockey team.
The decision means the Pirates - who moved to Hampton Roads from Shreveport, La., in November - might have to fold or suspend their franchise for a season. However, Pirates President Lonie Glieberman is not giving up.
``We respect their decision not to put funds into the stadium,'' he said late Tuesday night. ``We are prepared to go it alone with our own money, without any tax breaks or any help from any area cities.
``We believe so much in this community we're willing to go forward and renovate the stadium without tax dollars. We're looking forward to an exciting 1996 CFL season in Hampton Roads.''
Foreman Field is the only suitable facility in Hampton Roads, however, and sources said the Pirates will not get a lease without the cities' support.
The CFL has set a deadline of Jan. 31 for the team to say whether and where it will play next season. Sources say the Pirates have been told they need to present a lease to the CFL by today.
Old Dominion University, which owns Foreman Field, apparently will not negotiate a lease with the Pirates. ODU Athletic Director Jim Jarrett was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but a source at ODU, who asked not to be identified, said the school will not go against the wishes of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. ``Our position has been clear from the beginning,'' the source said. ``If the communities want this, we will do this. If they don't, we won't.''
Norfolk and Virginia Beach officials also made it clear they were rejecting not just the Pirates, but the CFL as a whole.
``I think we had a great deal of concern that a Canadian Football League franchise would succeed,'' Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim said. ``The Canadian Football League experience in the United States has not been good, and we also considered that in reaching our decision.''
Asked Monday what the fallback position is if Hampton Roads rejected the team, Bill Haase, Pirates executive vice president, said: ``Plan B is Plan A. We have no Plan B.''
Virginia Beach Vice Mayor W.D. Sessoms Jr. said the CFL wasn't worth the financial risk. If the team were to fold, as have three of the seven American teams in the league, it would damage Hampton Roads' prospects of getting a major league franchise in any sport, Sessoms and other city officials said.
``When this region goes out for a professional sports team, we want to do everything to make it turn into a great success and that means you've got to start out with something that's proven, that's a winner,'' Sessoms said. ``(With) the CFL, the track record is poor.''
The Pirates announced their relocation from Shreveport to Hampton Roads in mid-November. They opened an office in Virginia Beach and netted 2,700 season-ticket holders in eight weeks. Glieberman has moved into a Virginia Beach condominium, along with several other team officials.
The Pirates selected Hampton Roads over half a dozen other metropolitan areas, including Milwaukee, Portland, Ore., and Fort Worth, after losing more more than $7 million in two seasons in Shreveport.
Haase said late Tuesday that Virginia Beach and Norfolk officials had made no attempt to inform the Pirates of their decision.
``We have received nothing from either city,'' he said. ``They haven't called or faxed us anything.''
Haase declined to comment further, but privately, Pirates officials expressed anger and frustration over the decision. Pirates officials said they could have moved elsewhere had they known as recently as two weeks ago that Hampton Roads officials would reject them.
They said they complied with Fraim's demand to pay outstanding bills in Shreveport. And Pirates officials said they offered Monday to pay for the $400,000 stadium renovation without help from taxpayers.
``Well, that's not exactly true,'' Fraim said. ``He (Glieberman) wanted tax credits. The city was still going to incur expenses for any number of items, such as police and traffic.
``The burden has always been on the Gliebermans to make their case. They just weren't able to do that to our satisfaction.'' < ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
CITIES' STATEMENT ON THE CFL
The following is a joint statement from the city of Norfolk and
the city of Virginia Beach:
The cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach have been approached by
the Canadian Football League Pirates to fund renovations to Foreman
Field in order that the franchise could begin to play its scheduled
league games there in 1996.
Following a joint review of the proposal, the cities have decided
not to commit public funds to the Foreman Field renovations. We
appreciate the interest of the Glieberman family in bringing their
franchise here and wish them well, however, it was decided that the
long-term interests of the citizens of Hampton Roads would be better
served by pursuing other professional and amateur sports
opportunities.
We believe these opportunities can be best pursued by actively
engaging in a regionally based analysis of the options available to
Hampton Roads to attract major league sports into the region.
Again, we are grateful to the Glieberman family for the energy
they have put into considering Hampton Roads as the home for their
CFL franchise and we wish them success in their endeavors.
KEYWORDS: CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE by CNB