THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611030188
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: 62 lines
What the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on here?
Norfolk gets George Shinn on the rebound after his engagement to Raleigh falls through, and in the heat of passion the mogul and the city enter into a quickie romance that makes the liaison between Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley look like something out of Brides magazine.
Says Norfolk mayor Paul Fraim: ``We have to create a frenzy.''
Like they haven't already?
Now, I don't blame Hizzoner for taking a chance, no matter how slim, on the National Hockey League. When you have nothing in the way of big league sports, you have nothing to lose.
I'd just hate to see a community get its hopes up for something that will never come to pass.
On the other hand, maybe the community is too confused to create its own expectations. No question, bewilderment is the proper response to the last couple days.
Why would Hampton Roads, which has no suitable arena and no solid plans to build one, and which is afflicted with a legendary lack of regional cooperation, be considered a prime location for an NHL team?
Even now, for all the huff and puff of the past several hours, there is no evidence that Hampton Roads is coming down with NHL fever.
Yes, there are those blaring newspaper headlines and breathless TV reports. But this is the National Hockey League we're talking about.
It is always possible to cobble together a coalition of rabid puckheads and zealous local officials to give the impression the community is atwitter over golden pond. But does the average sports fan generally consider the NHL to be major league in the same sense that the NFL, NBA, big-league baseball or big-time college sports are? Not really.
This is all beside the point, I suppose. Think about it: Even Shinn thought Raleigh was a more attractive location for a new NHL team. And Raleigh is considered a second-rung expansion site.
Where does that put Norfolk?
And with Atlanta, Houston and Nashville in the running, why would any league feel the need to take a risk on Southeastern Virginia?
What's more, Hampton Roads is a very late entry in the expansion derby. Thus those ridiculous deadlines.
Two weeks to find an arena site and agree on how it will be financed?
Not only is this absurd, it could be dangerous.
Two weeks for our meager corporate base to join with private citizens in buying tickets for games that may never be played?
Good luck.
But what about the 1.6 million regional population that makes Hampton Roads the largest market without a major league franchise? No story about the area and pro sports fails to include this nugget.
Well, what about it? As anyone who lives here knows, only in a strict statistical sense are we a ``community'' of 1.6 million.
There is a reason Hampton Roads is the largest metropolitan area without a big-league franchise.
Now, in an attempt to rid us of that stigma, the politicians have agreed to Shinn's deadline delirium.
For the next two weeks, we are promised frenzy. Then, in mid-December, the NHL will issue invitations and rejections.
At least for Hampton Roads, the process will be quick, if not entirely pain-free. by CNB