THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606300229
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 49 lines
Now that the Hampton Roads Admirals and Hampton Roads Mariners have the same owners, they soon will begin sharing just about everything - a business manager, new headquarters, a team bus and even an apartment building.
Mark Garcea and Page Johnson, who purchased the Admirals hockey team late last month and have owned the Mariners soccer team for two years, plan to consolidate team operations to save money and better utilize their manpower.
Among the planned changes:
Both teams will be run by business manager Brian Kelley, who was hired last week.
The teams will move into an office building on Diamond Springs Road in Virginia Beach. The Mariners now are located in a medical building on Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach; the Admirals' offices are at Scope.
Garcea and Johnson plan to purchase an apartment complex in Ghent or on the Oceanfront to provide housing for players from both teams. The Admirals players will move into the apartments in the fall; the Mariners will move in once hockey is finished.
They plan to purchase a bus to be used by both teams.
The same training staff, yet to be selected, will treat both teams.
Johnson said the teams will reap tax dividends, such as depreciation allowances, by sinking their money into a bus and an apartment building rather than into rent. The Admirals spent $70,000 alone last year renting buses.
``Paying rent is like throwing money away,'' Johnson said. ``It makes more sense to buy something because we're in it for the long haul. We feel like we can recoup our costs on the bus in two or three years. And the building will appreciate in value.''
Using the bus and apartments for both teams is feasible because the soccer and hockey seasons are at different times. The Admirals begin in October and end in April or May; the Mariners start in April and end in August.
``There will be a slight overlap,'' Johnson said. ``That means that for about a month or six weeks, the Mariners will stay in hotel rooms while the Admirals are still playing.''
Because Garcea and Johnson co-own two Virginia Beach hotels, finding rooms will be no problem. Those hotels - the Ramada Plaza Resort and Econo Lodge on the Oceanfront - also could benefit from spinoff business. ECHL teams are asked to recommend hotels for visiting teams and fans, and Garcea said his hotels will be among those recommended.
The new office building also will afford the teams more visibility. Johnson said large signs with the Admirals' and Mariners' logos will be hoisted atop the building. A marquee showing future games also will be added.
``There's a huge volume of traffic at that location,'' Johnson said. ``It will give both teams a larger profile.'' by CNB