THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702080001
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 91 lines
Gov. George F. Allen, a Republican, favors legislation needed for Hampton Roads to fund a 20,000-seat arena, but none of the six delegates from Virginia Beach, five of them Republicans, supported the bill this week. It cleared the House 54-39, nonetheless, and was passed on to the Senate.
In subsequent interviews with the Virginia Beach delegates, three things were clear:
1. No Virginia Beach city officials asked them to support the bill.
2. Hardly anybody lobbied the delegates in support of the bill.
3. Virginia Beach delegates believe, based on their polls and phone calls, that the majority of their constituents oppose having their tax money used for a professional sports arena.
Three of the six delegates voted against the funding bill. They were Frank W. Wagner, who opposes all public financing of professional sports facilities; Leo Wardrup Jr., who said calls from constituents were running 5 or 6 to 1 against paying taxes for the arena; and Robert Tata, who said 83 percent of the 300 Kempsville residents who responded to his survey opposed paying tax dollars for a professional-sports arena.
Two of the delegates abstained: Glenn R. Croshaw, because he's a partner in a law firm representing the Hampton Roads Admirals, which team could be affected by the vote; and Robert F. McDonnell, who has the impression the Virginia Beach city government is skeptical of the funding plan contained in the bill. ``I don't want to do anything as a legislator up here,'' he said, ``that will hurt the interest of my local government.'' McDonnell did say, ``If we can bring a big-time sports franchise to Hampton Roads, there will be a positive economic benefit to the entire region, including Virginia Beach.''
The remaining Beach delegate, Harry R. Purkey, didn't vote. Most of the constituents he polled oppose the arena.
The arena-funding bill that passed in the House would allow Norfolk and the state to rebate taxes generated at the arena - mostly income and sales taxes - to the Hampton Roads Sports Facility Authority. That authority would build the arena and use those taxes, estimated at $5 million a year, to provide most of the arena debt payments of about $8.9 million a year.
That $5 million a year is tax money the state would never see if the arena were not built, so the state is giving up nothing it has.
The current funding plan also calls for Hampton Roads localities to pay $1.50 per capita per year toward paying off the debt. That is a modest sum for an arena that would be used for many purposes in addition to major-league hockey.
One thing should be recognized: A vote against public support for an arena is a vote against major-league sports in Hampton Roads. If Hampton Roads declines to put up public money, another region will put up the money.
Virginia Beach delegates may be asking their constituents the wrong question.
For example, Tata's survey of his constituents asked, ``Would you be willing to see some of your tax dollars go for funding an area-wide arena/stadium for a professional sports team?'' As mentioned, 83 percent of respondents said no.
But what would the answer be if the question were, ``Would you be willing to pay $1.50 a year toward an arena that would be used part of the time for major-league hockey but more of the time for big-time entertainment events?''
Tata, a former all-conference athlete in two sports at the University of Virginia, believes people still would oppose paying the $1.50.
``It's the principle,'' he said. He believes that people don't want their taxes to go to rich professional club owners who play musical chairs between cities and to athletes who make millions and behave like jerks.
``If someone wants to come and build a stadium,'' Tata said, ``we'll welcome him,'' so long as tax money isn't needed.
``We can live with no big-league team here,'' Tata added.
We can, but we could live better with a big-league team and a 20,000-seat arena available for all manner of events.
A buck and a half a person is not a great deal of money. And asking the state to give up money it would not otherwise see is hardly a call for sacrifice.
Still, if the arena is ever to be built, a far better selling job will have to be done, especially in the suburbs.
The job of promoting the arena has just been passed like a hot potato from the public/private Hampton Roads Partnership to the Sports Council of Hampton Roads, an arm of the chambers of commerce for South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula.
Brad Face of Smithfield, who now will head the lobbying effort, said: ``The cities have been asked to fund $1.50 per resident for 30 years. Beyond that, they have no liability. Our sense is the public doesn't understand that. That's our fault. We haven't communicated well.''
He couldn't be more right about the failure to communicate. Delegate Croshaw, for example, said not a soul from Virginia Beach asked him to vote for the arena bill.
Despite the lack of unified regional support, the Senate should pass the arena-funding bill. The governor should sign it. But none of that will matter unless arena supporters do a better job of promoting the arena and its funding plan.