THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 17, 1997 TAG: 9702170168
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: NHL In Hampton Roads
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 96 lines
Page Johnson, co-owner of the Hampton Roads Admirals, insists that he doesn't want to block the National Hockey League from coming to town.
Just to prove it, Johnson said he planned to purchase two season tickets today for the Hampton Roads Rhinos, as the team would be called if the NHL grants Charlotte businessman George Shinn an expansion franchise.
``That's if they don't tear up my check,'' Johnson said.
Johnson says he and co-owner Mark Garcea have been miscast as anti-Rhinos since last week, when they announced that if Shinn fails to land an NHL team, they might propose building a scaled-down arena in the suburbs.
The Admirals envision a 15,000-seat arena costing about $47 million (excluding land and infrastructure costs) that would seat 13,500 for hockey. The Admirals would run the arena and return $22 million toward its debt repayment from arena revenues.
Johnson said the timing of the revelation - during regional debate over funding for a $143 million, 20,000-seat arena for the Rhinos in downtown Norfolk - caused suspicion in some corners that they are trying to hurt the region's NHL effort.
``We really didn't want this to be public knowledge right now, but we were running scared that a half-story was going to get out,'' he said.
Johnson said he and Garcea became nervous when they were tipped off nearly two weeks ago by economic development officials in Chesapeake that Virginian-Pilot reporters were asking about the Admirals' arena plans, so they released the story last Monday.
Johnson said ``unfair'' media coverage, especially in The Virginian-Pilot, led many in the business community to conclude that the Admirals are actively working to keep the Rhinos out. He especially noted an editorial in Friday's Virginian-Pilot.
``We haven't heard negative comments from fans,'' Johnson said, ``but we have heard negative comments from people who matter to us, people in the business world. We've heard things from them we don't like. If nothing else, this has hurt our reputation.
``If we wanted to hurt the Rhinos, we would have floated this story a long time ago and had taken shots at them. How do we feel about the NHL? If the public wants it, it should happen.
``We're protected on the downside. Financially, this represents a minute portion of our net worth. It's a hobby we'd love to keep, but if there's something bigger and better for the community, then it should happen.
``I told George Shinn from the get-go that if it's meant to be, we want it. We've been quiet. There have been a lot of things we haven't approved of, perhaps, but we've kept quiet. We don't want to do anything that will hurt this community.
``We were hurt (by the editorial) because it said we've got small plans. We've got big plans for this area. Our own thoughts are that the area should have a major league team. But we think it's soccer; we don't think it's hockey. It has much broader appeal. It makes more sense.''
Garcea and Johnson are negotiating with Virginia Beach officials over a 7,500-seat, taxpayer-funded stadium they would lease for a minor league soccer team. They hope it will be expanded to 30,000 seats for Major League Soccer.
Johnson says there are several misconceptions about the suburban arena project.
``This started long before anyone had heard of the Rhinos, and it's very preliminary,'' Johnson said. He and Garcea began working on the arena project last summer after negotiations with Scope over lease concessions and a lease extension stalled, Johnson said. Carl Scheer, a longtime ECHL official who is building an arena in Greenville, S.C., confirmed that he had discussions with Garcea last summer about an arena in Hampton Roads. Johnson said the Admirals are using Sheer's new arena as a model for their own.
The Admirals are not wedded to an arena seating 13,500 for hockey, he said. ``Those are our needs,'' he said. ``Personally, we believe the area needs something much bigger. But if it needs to be that big, we need to have the municipalities put more money into it. I think 18,000 to 20,000 seats makes sense. The arena we're discussing doesn't have all the bells and whistles that Shinn's arena would, but it would be something the area could be very proud of.''
Johnson insists the Admirals have not been working to hurt the Rhinos. Though a large percentage of anti-Rhinos letters published by area newspapers have come from Admirals fans, Johnson said he has done nothing to encourage letter writers. ``Like every other citizen in this area, I give my own personal thoughts to friends, to people I trust,'' he said. ``But I made no public pronoucements about how I feel about it.''
Garcea declined to be interviewed.
Johnson said he has been sobered by events since the Admirals arena story broke last week.
``We feel like we've been good citizens,'' he said. ``And we've just been raked over the coals. We've been hurt by this.
``In hindsight, the best thing we could have said was no comment. . . . As a relative newcomer with a club in which there's a lot of public interest, I'm learning a lot.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Mark Garcea, top, and Page Johnson co-own the Admirals. Johnson said
``unfair'' media coverage led some to conclude they were opposed to
efforts to land the Rhinos.
KEYWORDS: NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE FRANCHISE ARENA