THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701180882
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: 64 lines
Some things to ruminate on as the Rhinos retrench for the next phase . . .
Deals-in-principle collapse all the time, which is why nobody is breathing easy yet over the arena agreement George Shinn reached with the Hampton Roads Partnership last week.
Fifteen separate jurisdictions need to sign off on putting tax dollars toward the deal. If some decline, which seems probable, alternate financing must be concocted, which could require even more dickering over fine points with Shinn.
So it is far from over, and who knows what will happen if Virginia Beach turns thumbs down? That city will be asked for nearly $700,000 in tax money annually, or a little less than one-third of the overall municipal contribution.
And no one expects the Beach City Council to agree to anything until it knows what's in it for Virginia Beach. And it had better be good.
The big question: Would Norfolk ante up whatever its neighbors fail to?
Harried are the dealmakers.
Left unspoken, naturally, during Shinn's presentation to the NHL last week was one inescapable fact: The minority population of Hampton Roads significantly shrinks the Rhinos' market.
Historically, ice hockey receives marginal participation and support from non-whites. A glance at the ice and the crowd at any rink tells you that. And a look at projected population figures for Hampton Roads also is revealing.
According to Virginia Employment Commission figures provided by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, the region's population in 2000 will be 1,593,070. The non-white population is projected at 546,796 - or 34.3 percent of the total population - which dents the realistic total market.
Figures from the NHL office show that 24 percent of African-Americans consider themselves interested in the NHL. Caucasian interest rates the highest at 38 percent.
With creature comforts - such as video screens on the back of seats - improving in arenas at remarkable speed, what's to ensure a new building won't be outdated in a decade and spark a battle similar to what Shinn is fighting in Charlotte for a new playpen?
Well, Bill Luther, Norfolk's director of civic facilities, says that's nothing to be concerned about.
``I would assume this region would not propose anything for the future other than the very best of what's out there today,'' Luther said. ``I'm sure it would be a first-class facility that would certainly be viable for a number of years.''
Even 25-year-old Scope, Luther said, is far from obsolete - for a 10,000-seat arena.
It's worth noting that the 12,000 season tickets required of each expansion franchise do not need to be sold before the NHL awards franchises. The franchises will be granted on the condition that the club sells that many tickets.
Thursday's optimistic announcement of a study showing a new arena would generate an annual profit of $777,000 probably couldn't have been timed worse from a credibility standpoint.
The same wonderful pictures were painted of Nauticus, whose bills Norfolk has just assumed because the attraction has fallen so short of what was promised.
Don't think that doesn't grate on, and won't be remembered by, the grumbling masses who want nothing to do with the NHL or an arena.
KEYWORDS: NHL FRANCHISE ARENA