THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603060616
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Saying it might help make Virginia Beach an outdoor recreation mecca, the City Council Tuesday agreed to pursue a multi-purpose stadium that could eventually house Major League Soccer.
The council informally asked the city staff to complete a more detailed analysis of the proposal to build a 7,000-seat stadium near Princess Anne Park.
``The one thing that could make Virginia Beach an even more unique city is if we decide to emphasize our strengths, which might just be outdoor sports,'' Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said.
``. . . Norfolk wants to be the capital of everything,'' Oberndorf continued. ``Maybe Virginia Beach can be the capital of outdoor sports.''
Construction of a 7,000-seat stadium would cost $4.8 million, according to preliminary city estimates. There were no estimates of the cost of expanding that stadium to the 15,000 seats that would eventually be needed to accommodate a Major League Soccer team.
In addition to serving as the home for the Hampton Roads Mariners, the stadium would provide athletic field space for a future high school to be built in the area, city officials said, saving the school district $300,000 in building costs. It might also be used by youth soccer leagues, council members said.
Council member Robert K. Dean said he is not convinced that enough people would watch soccer to justify the city's expense.
``I want to see the numbers,'' Dean said Tuesday night. ``I just don't see the excitement out there for adult soccer.''
Council member Harold Heischober, who proposed the idea to the council, disagreed.
``There are more young people playing soccer than baseball,'' said Heischober, a former minor league baseball player. ``I'm not a soccer man, but soccer is the most played sport in the world.''
The council initially talked about locating the stadium on city-owned land in the so-called Lake Ridge area next to Princess Anne Park, but agreed to consider other sites.
Two council members, who sit on a committee that is planning uses for the 1,200-acre Lake Ridge parcel the council bought in 1994, said they weren't sure there would be ample space for the stadium on the tract after other proposed uses are accommodated.
The Mariners want a commitment from the City Council soon, to proceed with their plans to move the team up to the fledgling major leagues in the next five years.
``They have to start making commitments,'' said Economic Development Director Don Maxwell, ``if not in Virginia Beach, then elsewhere.''
Hampton Roads businessmen Mark Garcea and Page Johnson bought the Hurricanes in 1995, renamed them the Mariners and upgraded their status from amateur to professional.
The team is now in the 22-team ``select division,'' a minor league, farm team for the 10-team Major League Soccer division, which will begin games in April.
Garcea plans to invest $5 million in the team to bring it to the major leagues, and would like the team to call Virginia Beach home, Maxwell said.
``This is an opportunity for Virginia Beach,'' Vice Mayor W.D. Sessoms Jr. said. ``This team is backed by people who are significant owners of the Tides, who are significant business people in this community. This is a hometown effort. I'd like to see us get excited about it and bring it to this community.'' by CNB