THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120449
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 74 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals say they will help build a $47 million, 15,000-seat arena in the suburbs if the region's effort to land a National Hockey League franchise fails.
Admirals owners Page Johnson and Mark Garcea said they would pay $22 million over 20 years from arena revenue. The balance of $27 million would come from taxpayers.
The arena would seat 13,500 for hockey, contain 30 luxury suites, have club seating for 1,000 and parking for 4,500 cars, Johnson said.
Johnson said it would not be large enough for an NHL or NBA team, nor would it attract events such as major-college basketball tournaments. Johnson said the Admirals would run the arena and would seek to attract an Arena Football or Continental Basketball Association team.
``We would need a second tenant to make it work,'' he said. ``We think this is the kind of arena Hampton Roads needs.''
Johnson said the Admirals are considering sites along Interstate 64 in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk for an arena that he hopes would open for the 2000-2001 East Coast Hockey League season.
Johnson stressed that plans are preliminary and would not be pursued if the region lands an NHL expansion franchise. The Hampton Roads Partnership has signed an agreement for the region to build a 20,000-seat, $143 million arena in downtown Norfolk if the NHL comes to Hampton Roads.
Nonetheless, Johnson said he had begun discussions with city officials in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach and has had discussions with a South Carolina contractor, who gave him preliminary cost estimates.
Johnson said the Admirals must have a new playing facility if they are to survive. This is their eighth season at Norfolk Scope, where the team has been among the ECHL's attendance leaders.
The Admirals are fifth in the 23-team ECHL with an average of approximately 6,800 per game. But Johnson said the team would lose money this season if it did not make the playoffs.
``This operation is very marginal,'' said Johnson, who along with Garcea purchased the Admirals from Blake Cullen last spring for an estimated $2.2 million. Cullen, who founded the team in 1989, said he lost money last season.
Attendance is down slightly from a year ago even though the team leads the ECHL with a 32-12-3 record. Johnson said the 9,010-seat Scope is too small and lacks the luxury suites and club seating necessary for the Admirals to make money.
``This is self-preservation,'' Johnson said.
The Admirals are trying to negotiate a two-year extension on their lease, which expires following the 1997-98 season, and have had a testy relationship with Scope officials since Johnson and Garcea bought the team.
The Admirals say they lost $40,000 or more of potential revenue because Scope did not have dates available for preseason games or preseason training camp. They also say that parking problems in downtown Norfolk have cost them potential fans, and thus revenue.
Johnson and Garcea tried to get adjustments on the Admirals' lease - such as revenue sharing on concessions - from Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim prior to buying the Admirals. They also sought a guarantee they would be compensated if an NHL or NBA team came to Norfolk. Fraim denied their requests.
When asked for comment on the Admirals' arena plans, Fraim said: ``Some things don't require comment.''
Johnson said downtown is the wrong site for an arena because of parking problems.
Bill Luther, director of civic facilities for Norfolk, said parking problems experienced by Admirals fans are temporary and have been caused by the construction of the MacArthur Center.
Luther said he didn't know of the Admirals' arena plans until he received a copy of a newspaper story Tuesday morning in Detroit, where he is on business for the city.
``We have had a special relationship with the Admirals for eight years,'' he said.
``I supposed I would have appreciated somebody telling me, `We want a contract for two more years because we plan to build our own arena.' To get it faxed to you in Detroit is sort of shocking.''