THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270738
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 54 lines
Representatives from four organizations created to promote sports in Hampton Roads pledged Thursday to coordinate their efforts and avoid turf wars.
Members of the 10-year-old Sports Authority of Hampton Roads said they will work closely with the newly-created Sports Facilities Authority of Hampton Roads. Both were formed to help finance construction of sports facilities.
Representatives from the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Sports Promotion Task Force and the sports committee of the Hampton Roads Partnership said their roles in recruiting sports teams will be complementary.
``There's a lot of goodwill here, a genuine spirit of cooperation,'' said Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim, who represents the partnership's sports committee and was one of several speakers asked to update sports facilities members on the region's hopes for landing an NBA or NHL team.
That spirit led to an informal declaration of responsibilities:
The partnership, composed of representatives from all area cities and business, military and educational leaders, will speak for the region with major sports franchise owners thinking of moving to Hampton Roads, said Fraim and Barry E. DuVal, the partnership president.
The chamber's sports task force, formed five years ago to promote the region as a destination for amateur and professional sports, will continue to recruit all types of sports events, short of the NHL and NBA, chairman Frank Bowers said. The task force has lured dozens of events, including the Virginia State Games.
The Hampton Roads Sports Authority can finance any sports facility as long as the region's cities and counties provide funding. Though it has yet to build anything, the authority has done two studies on a proposed 20,000-seat arena and made three attempts in the 1980s and early 1990s to build a superspeedway in Isle of Wight County. Morton V. Whitlow, sports authority chairman, said his group will not attempt to recruit sports franchises, but will offer assistance if the partnership lures a team.
The sports facilities authority, of which Whitlow is also a member, can issue bonds for a 20,000-seat arena only if an NBA or NHL team signs a long-term lease. Though it has held had no official meetings, 10 of its 15 members attended Thursday and agreed to formally meet on Oct. 17.
Thereafter, the facilities authority is expected to hold joint meetings and cooperate with the sports authority.
``We've been given no marching orders,'' said former Norfolk Mayor Vincent Thomas, a member of the facilities authority. ``Perhaps we'd better prepare our own marching orders.''
Whitlow said a phone call to Gov. George F. Allen's office brought no encouragement that marching orders would be forthcoming.
``We don't have any staff, we don't have any money, we don't have any charge and the governor's not going to call a meeting,'' he said.
``At some point,'' he added, ``there could be a merger of the authorities.'' by CNB