THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 1997 TAG: 9701280396
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: 73 lines
When even its executive director, Eddie Webb, calls it ``a stagnant museum,'' you'd better believe the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame has big work to do to gain some relevancy.
An identity couldn't hurt, either.
``It's amazing how many people there are who don't even know it's here,'' Webb said Monday in his office at the Hall, on High Street in Portsmouth. ``This really is a secret treasure.''
The CIA should keep secrets so well.
The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame is in its 31st year now. And Webb thinks it's about time it got off its duff and, you know, did something. Left a little imprint.
Certainly, for the 155 men and women from around Virginia who have been inducted since 1972, the Hall is no small potatoes. (How many Halls of Fame are you in, hmmmm?)
But as it continues to honor the past, the shrine - tucked into a tidy, red-brick building with hardly a directional sign around to point the way - needs a serious jolt of modernization.
That is work for Webb, 43, the son of former Old Dominion basketball coach Paul Webb (Hall of Fame Class of '93) and himself a college assistant coach for 20 years. Weary of the grind and disagreeable players, Webb quit coaching at Virginia Commonwealth after the '94-95 season and, that September, accepted a two-year contract to run the Hall.
Webb took over for the retired Herbert Simpson, the original director, and set about broadening the Hall's horizons. His first step was touting its existence to groups around the state and correcting misconceptions of the Hall as germane only to Hampton Roads.
Webb scored a victory last year when the General Assembly passed a bill that recognizes the Hall, which Webb said attracts about 30,000 visitors annually, as an official state museum. Now, in his quest to give the Hall a more vital and well-visited future, Webb wants the state to put some bucks where its bill is on a consistent basis.
Virginia has helped the Hall, a non-profit entity funded by the city of Portsmouth, sponsorships and other private donations, off and on through the years, Webb said.
It put $50,000, about one-third of the Hall's operating budget, into it last year and this year. Webb is pushing for $50,000 more to pay for a study to determine what must be done to make the Hall the equal of others throughout the South.
Webb's got good ideas; paying for them is the dirty detail.
Space, for example, is a dire problem. The Hall's 6,000 square feet are busting with glass memorabilia cases. About 15,000 square feet - closer to the Portsmouth waterfront, Webb hopes - will be needed to suit the future.
Interactive exhibits also are a priority, the better to tap into the kids who flock to Portsmouth's interactive Children's Museum across the street.
``Once you get them inside,'' Webb said, ``you can't expect kids to just read all the displays.''
You can, though, expect them to shoot a basket, swing a golf club, hit in a batting cage, kick a football, etc.
And if you get them to look around, Webb said, they might notice they are surrounded by some pretty inspirational role models.
The role-model pitch was part of Webb's address to Hampton Roads lawmakers in Richmond on Monday afternoon. And he will be back on Thursday, co-hosting with Portsmouth what Webb calls an ``awareness'' reception for state legislators.
While Webb lobbies for their steady support, the politicians can schmooze with the 33 Hall inductees Webb has asked to attend, including Ralph Sampson, Ace Parker, Bill Dudley and Roosevelt Brown - quite an interactive exhibit in its own right.
``Why wouldn't they want to support this?'' Webb asked. ``Sports is a non-partisan issue.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Eddie Webb