THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608110220
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 154 lines
Lonie Glieberman had a dream not long ago. His Hampton Roads Pirates beat the Toronto Argonauts, delighting a sellout crowd at Foreman Field. The Canadian Football League game was televised on ESPN nationally and on TSN in the Great White North.
But at game's end, all 25,400 people tried to leave at once. The exits to the stadium and parking lots became hopelessly clogged. Fights began among fans. No matter how hard officials tried, they couldn't break the logjam.
Not until Lonie woke up in a cold sweat.
``It was a nightmare,'' he said.
Glieberman, erstwhile president of the defunct Hampton Roads Pirates, is still picking up the pieces from a true-life nightmare that began seven months ago. Lonie's World came tumbling down on Jan. 16, when the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach announced the Pirates weren't welcome in Hampton Roads.
They declined to fund a modest renovation of Foreman Field, saying they were worried that the CFL was a poor risk and could hurt the region's efforts to land a major sports franchise.
The disintegration of the CFL's American division accelerated after the meltdown in Norfolk. San Antonio announced it was folding. Baltimore moved to Montreal. Birmingham and Memphis had previously folded. An effort move the Birmingham franchise to Shreveport lost all momentum when the Pirates succumbed.
Glieberman left town with a smile, bravely promising that the Pirates would turn up in Dallas, Detroit or Milwaukee, if not in 1996, then surely in 1997.
That hasn't happened, nor is it likely, said Bill Haase, executive vice president of what's left of the club.
Glieberman, who for years vowed that the CFL would succeed in spite of its critics and troubles, apparently has finally soured on the league.
``The chance to do that comes down to slim and none,'' Haase said of the Pirates' chances of reviving in 1997. ``You never know what may turn up, but it doesn't seem likely at this point.''
Lonie's World almost certainly will include another foray into sports, perhaps in a league familiar to Hampton Roads. Sources in the East Coast Hockey League say Glieberman has made tentative contact with the league about purchasing a franchise - though not the Hampton Roads Admirals, sold this year by Blake Cullen to Mark Garcea and Page Johnson.
Glieberman and Haase are in their native Detroit, contacting leagues and teams as they decide what direction to turn.
A Glieberman family friend says Lonie is also considering roller hockey, arena football, indoor soccer and the Central, American and International hockey leagues.
``We're exploring our options, including the CFL,'' said Haase, who along with Glieberman won't comment on what those options might be. ``I would not be surprised if Lonie was involved (with a sports franchise) again within a year.''
The Pirates' three-month stay in Hampton Roads last fall and winter was conducted with all the finesse of a fullback's dive up the middle. Glieberman announced he was moving his Shreveport Pirates here from Louisiana - without a lease at Foreman Field and without the support of local politicians. He was dogged with questions about poor management and unpaid bills.
The 27-year-old son of Detroit real estate magnate Bernie Glieberman, Lonie has been a lightning rod for controversy since the family went into the sports business 4 1/2 years ago. They purchased the ailing Ottawa CFL franchise, saving it from bankruptcy, but after two seasons, left town with millions of dollars in losses, the city of Ottawa filing lawsuits against them.
They acquired an expansion franchise and moved it to Shreveport, a blue-collar city of 200,000 near the Texas border. There followed two more tumultuous years, millions more in losses and more controversy for Lonie, who ran the team for his father.
The problems in Shreveport followed the team to Hampton Roads, as disgruntled Louisiana fans, business people and city officials inundated journalists and Norfolk city officials with phone calls trashing Glieberman.
Lonie is convinced that led to the Pirates' demise here.
``The shame of it is that I think it would have worked,'' he said. ``We always got a much friendlier reception from fans'' than from politicians and journalists.
``The CFL has its problems, and I'm sure people there think they made the right decision because all of the American teams are gone. But I think what happened in Hampton Roads was a major factor in the downfall of the American division. It had a domino effect.
``If we had played, I'm convinced San Antonio would have continued. Baltimore might have found an American city to play in. Shreveport might have been successful.
``Who really knows? It might have worked. The people there might be enjoying pro football right now.''
Glieberman licked his wounds upon leaving the area by huddling with Pirates officials to discuss their mistakes and their options, and then by traveling.
He and Haase and coach Forrest Gregg met in Dallas for several weeks, pondering whether to transplant the Pirates to the Cotton Bowl. It looked like a good fit at first - Gregg is a Dallas resident and former Southern Methodist and Green Bay Packers star and head coach who's in the NFL Hall of Fame. Quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver played for Texas Tech and the Houston Oilers. The stadium lease was generous.
But a quick telemarketing survey of Dallas showed that Texans could care less about the CFL and probably wouldn't support a team. The same telemarketing survey had indicated the Pirates would average more than 24,000 per game at Foreman Field, Glieberman said.
So they gave up. The coaching and front-office staffs were dismissed and the players went their separate ways.
Glieberman has spent much of the ensuing six months traveling. He's been to Colorado, California and Florida visiting friends. He went to Ottawa to watch a CFL exhibition game. He's spent a lot of time skiing.
Lately, he's been intensifying his talks with other sports leagues.
``I'm not depressed about it, no way,'' he said. ``Life goes on.
``Hey, I'm a lot better off than most of the people associated with the Pirates. I'm one of the lucky ones. It's the players and front-office people who got hurt. I'm not sure city officials were thinking of them when they made their decision.''
With the exception of Haase, who continues to work in the family's Detroit real-estate office, the front-office staff was laid off.
The coaching staff fared better. Gregg has a personal services contract and will be paid a six-figure salary not to coach this season. Assistants Rusty Russell (Youngstown State), Al Gregg (Kent University) and Dan Daniels (Southwest Texas) are coaching in college. Steve Dennis is head coach of a Shreveport high school. Joe Barnes heads the Fellowship of Christian Athletes West Coast chapter. Joe Womack is a scout for the NFL.
Only a handful of players wound up back in uniform. Nine Pirates were on opening-day CFL rosters, though only six remain. Six are playing with arena league teams. Placekicker Bjorn Nittmo, perhaps the team's best player last season, is in camp with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
Tolliver was drafted by Winnipeg, but didn't go because the Blue Bombers insisted on reducing his salary. He's spent the spring and summer playing on the Celebrity Golf Tour - he won first place and $75,000 in a recent event - and trying to land a tryout with an NFL team.
Glieberman said he winced when former Maury High and William and Mary star Shawn Knight was cut by Toronto.
``Shawn Knight would be playing now if we'd been allowed to play,'' he said. ``We had already begun to make arrangements with Toronto to bring him to Hampton Roads.''
Glieberman says he takes no satisfaction in the failure thus far of Hampton Roads to mount an effective campaign to bring an NBA or NHL team to the region.
``The only pleasure I have in life is when I succeed,'' he said. ``If we're not playing football and they're no further along, we both have lost.
``I hope things move forward in Hampton Roads. I read where some city officials say I might deserve credit for getting the ball rolling on bringing a major sports team there. I hope that's true. I hope we contributed something to the region.
``We all really fell in love with that area. We could see ourselves settling down there forever. The time we spent there is often in my thoughts.''
And in his dreams. ILLUSTRATION: FILE COLOR PHOTO
For his next venture, Lonie Glieberman is considering the ECHL or
Arena Football.
Photo
STAFF FILE
Lonie Glieberman wanted to base his Canadian Football League team at
Old Dominion University's Foreman Field.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY CANADIAN
FOOTBALL LEAGUE by CNB