THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603030180
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
It was his trips to visit his brother in Jacksonville, Fla., that led Paul Moore to speak out Saturday in favor of a proposed 20,000-seat indoor sports arena in Hampton Roads.
Moore, a Virginia Beach resident, said he doesn't care where it's located ``as long as it's in the region.''
Moore said that over the years he has seen Jacksonville surpass Hampton Roads as an attractive place for tourists and businesses because it cooperates with surrounding communities.
Moore was one of about two dozen residents and civic leaders attending a question-and-answer session on creating a sports authority charged with building an arena aimed at attracting an NBA or NHL team.
State Sen. Frederick M. Quayle explained proposed legislation that he co-sponsored with Del. Jerrauld C. Jones that would allow all 15 area localities to participate in a sports facility authority.
Several residents were concerned the arena might cost more than citizens were willing to pay. A previous study estimated a cost of about $140 million, Quayle said.
``I would strongly recommend that the legislation say that the cities must have a referendum before a sports arena is built,'' Al Foster, president of the Hampton Federation of Civic Leagues, told Quayle.
``On major issues like this. you have to go to the people or it won't be successful,'' Foster said later.
One Portsmouth resident, Richard H. Ramsey, was suspicious of the project - especially of creating a new authority.
``This is being orchestrated from the top down,'' Ramsey said. ``If there is a shortfall, the taxpayers are going to have to pay the difference.''
But others said this seems to be a real opportunity.
``If you're going to use a regional facility, then don't you have an obligation to support it?'' said Arthur L. Collins, executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. ``Those kinds of issues need to be thought out now. A lot of discussion still has to take place.'' by CNB