
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997              TAG: 9704100629

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: HAMPTON                           LENGTH:   83 lines

HAMPTON GIVES WOMEN'S SOFTBALL A CHANCE AT BECOMING A HIT HERE GENERAL MANAGER SAYS TEAM NEEDS TO DRAW 1,500 FANS A GAME TO TURN PROFIT.

The stage is set for the Virginia Roadsters, Hampton Roads' own Women's Professional Fastpitch softball team, that makes its local debut in War Memorial Stadium on June 2.

Hampton/Newport News was selected as one of six sites for the new league, which is backed by AT&T Wireless. Other franchises are in Orlando, Fla., Durham, N.C., Charlotte, Atlanta and Tampa, Fla.

The coach of the Roadsters will be Lynn O'Linski, the athletic director and softball coach at St. Xavier University near Chicago.

They have five players already under contracts that will pay $3,000 to $4,000 for a 72-game schedule that ends Aug. 26 with the league playoffs. Each team can carry a 15-woman roster; local tryouts and preseason training begin May 19 at War Memorial. The Roadsters open the season May 30 in Durham.

They have a renovated facility in War Memorial, former home to the Peninsula Pilots, a Class A baseball team that departed after the 1992 season. The $200,000 overhaul, which includes a refurbished concourse, is expected to be complete by May 15.

And they have a logo, unveiled Wednesday morning on the grass at War Memorial. The purple, silver and black logo shows a softball resting in the middle of a ``V.''

Now, general manager Ron Rado said, they need folks to come. Rado, formerly the assistant general manager of the Toledo Mud Hens Triple-A baseball team, said Hampton Roads was chosen because of the availability of the facility and demographics, including a strong military base, that point to a thriving softball community.

An attempt at starting pro softball leagues in the 1970s failed largely because owners were unstable and one team dominated the sport, he said.

``Probably a lot of the things the minor league sports are doing now are what we'll be doing,'' he said. ``This game is a fun environment and you'll see a lot of fun.''

Initial fan support will be the Roadsters' biggest challenge, said O'Linski, who was unable to attend the logo unveiling because of a chipped tibia sustained during a softball game over the weekend.

``I know once we get them there, we can sell them,'' O'Linski said from Chicago. ``The question is how do we get them there?''

O'Linski said she is hopeful because of the foundation set for the league two summers ago when a pair of all-star teams traveled nine states in the Midwest for an exhibition tour. Average attendance was 1,450.

``The fan support was better than I expected,'' said Roadster third baseman Michelle Carlson-Neveling, who played on the summer tour. ``I expected some heckling, because you see the movie `A League of Their Own,' and you've got some guys who can be wise or some women who say, `You shouldn't be doing that.' But we had the support of a lot of families. A lot of dads brought their daughters to games.''

The Roadsters, Rado said, need to average 1,500 a night this summer to succeed financially. Tickets are priced at $5, $6 and $7.

Rado said the Roadsters will attempt to reach out to the community with camps, clinics and the tryouts in May. In addition to the signed players, the Roadsters have drafted 10 others, primarily former college players. WPF teams cannot sign college seniors until their season ends.

``We would like to add as many local players as we can,'' Rado said. ``Most of our players will have completed their college years. We're looking at All-Americans, players of that caliber.''

Carlson-Neveling, 24, was a two-time Division III Player of the Year and All-American at Trenton State College in New Jersey. Playing professionally became a reality, she said, when she was selected for the tour in 1995.

``It was something you'd think of when you were little and you're jealous of the guys playing baseball in the minor leagues or major leagues,'' she said. ``It's something you can't really describe and I guess a lot of people are going through that. It's an opportunity you don't want to pass up. Whether it's something that will work or won't work, it's something you can't let go of when you're that into softball.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

TICKET INFO

Season tickets to Virginia Roadsters games are available now.

A season ticket for a box seat to 36 home games is $198.

Single-ticket prices are $7 for a box ticket, $6 for a reserved

seat and $5 general admission. Discounts of $1 are available to

children under 14, senior citizens and military. Group discounts

also are available.

To order call 928-3278 or send check or money order to:

Virginia Roadsters, 1889 W. Pembroke Ave., Hampton, Va. 23661.

Attn: Ticket Manager