THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
``Thank you for your interest in our community, but we have higher aspirations. . . ,'' and with those words the powers that be have once again closed the door of opportunity for us to enjoy professional sports in Hampton Roads. As that door swings shut, we are being told that what we really want is a more-promising venture, one with a proven track record. All of this makes no sense to me! I feel the true message these elected officials are sending is one based on a closed-minded effort with no real direction.
The Hampton Roads area now holds and will continue to hold the title of ``Largest Metro Area in the Country Without a Professional Sports Team'' due largely to leadership such as what we've seen here in dealing with the CFL Pirates. There will always be a certain amount of risk involved with any business venture. But to wait and do nothing is certainly far worse. Dreams are never fulfilled, images are never changed and ideas are never developed.
It's amazing that the only thing that Norfolk and Virginia Beach can agree on is how to say ``No.'' To now display such regional cooperation is nothing more than a smoke-screen effort to cover up a poorly led group of backward idealists who have no enhanced vision for our area. More phone calls? More studies? More promises? We'll see. But in the meantime, we sit idly by and watch the other metro hubs enjoy a part of Americana we will only read about.
JIM H. BECKER
Virginia Beach, Jan. 17, 1996 by CNB