DATE: Saturday, August 16, 1997             TAG: 9708160606

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   84 lines

D.C. UNITED WILL PLAY EXHIBITION HERE THEY HOPE TO PLAY THE MARINERS NEXT SPRING IN 1ST GAME AT NEW BEACH STADIUM.

Major League Soccer's D.C. United will come to Virginia Beach next season to play the Hampton Roads Mariners in an exhibition game, United coach Bruce Arena says.

Arena was here this week to help dedicate the Hampton Roads Soccer Council's new 19-field complex. He said he hopes the United can play the inaugural game next spring in a new, $8 million, 6,000-seat stadium to be constructed by the city.

``We'd love to play the Mariners in their first game in what is going to be a beautiful soccer facility,'' said Arena, the 1996 Olympic coach who won five NCAA titles at Virginia and the MLS's first championship last season with the United.

According to a pair of key U.S. Soccer Federation officials, an MLS exhibition is as close to Major League Soccer as Virginia Beach will get.

While Mariners owners and city officials continue to harbor hope of getting an MLS team, that goal appears remote.

Larry Monaco, executive vice president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, said the MLS is looking elsewhere.

``I don't think it's going to happen here,'' Monaco said. ``I think the TV market is a major factor with the MLS and this area is so close to Washington.''

Hampton Roads is the nation's 27th largest metropolitan area, but is 40th among TV markets.

Added Francisco Marcos, the A-League commissioner: ``It's not a realistic situation in my opinion in the short term. The MLS needs to get into the top 20 TV markets first.''

The Mariners have moved into the A-League, the baseball equivalent of Triple-A.

The MLS is expanding to 12 teams next season by adding Chicago and Miami. Seattle has been promised a team.

Three more will be added by the year 2000, but Hampton Roads has not been mentioned publicly by MLS officials as an expansion site.

Virginia Beach officials still are working with the Mariners to promote the city to the MLS. Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf and Vice Mayor Will Sessoms met with MLS commissioner Douglas G. Logan and Mark Abbott, the league chief operating officer who is overseeing expansion, in New York last spring.

Oberndorf said she was encouraged by the meeting and says the MLS, with an average ticket price of $14, is the right fit for Hampton Roads.

``It's a family-affordable product,'' she said. ``They're keeping salaries in line. I really liked what I heard about Major League Soccer. They're marketing it as a family sport.''

Sessoms said he was surprised by Logan's interest in Virginia Beach.

``No promises were made by anyone,'' Sessoms said. ``But I walked out feeling very, very good. There's no doubt he has a lot of interest in Virginia Beach.''

Mariners co-owners Mark Garcea and Page Johnson say they plan to host a second MLS exhibition, perhaps against MetroStars of New York.

``We'd like to bring a couple of MLS teams here each year,'' Johnson said.

There are frequent exhibitions between MLS and A-League teams. The United played A-League members Richmond and Hershey on the road this season, and the two leagues annually compete in the U.S. Cup tournament.

The United won that tournament last season, beating the A-League's Rochester Rhinos in the final.

Mariners officials say the timing of the exhibition may depend on whether they think the stadium will be finished on time.

Johnson and Garcea say their longe-range goal is to move into the MLS and that they plan to enter the U.S. Cup to help promote the region with MLS officials. The Mariners are sitting out this season until the new stadium is built.

The United has a strong local following, says ticket manager Christopher Keeney, who accompanied Arena to Virginia Beach.

``We attract a surprisingly large number of calls from people in this area'' seeking tickets, he said.

The United's game against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Sept. 21 at RFK Stadium has been dubbed ``Tidewater Soccer Night.''

Hampton Roads residents will receive discounted tickets to that game.

However, Arena would rather nurture a rivalry than a fan base in Hampton Roads. He told Garcea and Johnson he hopes their bid for an MLS franchise is successful.

``I think it would work here,'' Arena said. ``I point to Columbus, Ohio as an example of how it can work in a market this size and to Kansas City as an example of why being in a big city is not a critical factor." ILLUSTRATION: United coach Bruce Arena says he hopes the area's bid

for a Major League Soccer franchise is successful.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu