DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 1997            TAG: 9708200623

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   74 lines

ADMIRALS TO UNVEIL THEIR NEW LOGO TODAY A 6-GAME PACKAGE WITH WPEN-TV ALSO IS EXPECTED TO BE ANNOUNCED AT A NEWS CONFERENCE AT SCOPE.

The Hampton Roads Admirals will retire their traditional anchor logo today at a Scope news conference.

Sources say a new logo and a new local television package will be announced at 2 p.m. Admirals officials would not comment on the reason for the press conference.

The old logo, a gold anchor on a blue puck surrounded by five stars, was designed when the team was formed in 1989 to appeal to the region's large Navy population.

Sources say the new logo will include the words ``Hampton Roads,'' but no further details were available.

The change is not unexpected, since new owners traditionally alter logos to spur novelty sales. Local businessmen Mark Garcea and Page Johnson bought the team from Blake Cullen 15 months ago.

``We knew it was coming,'' said Nancy Franklin, president of the Admirals Booster Club. ``When they put an ad in our circular saying (novelties) were on sale for 50 percent off, we knew something was up.''

The change doubtless will spur sales of T-shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys, hats, pucks and bumper stickers at Scope and sporting good stores and thus produce revenue for the Admirals, whose fans traditionally come to Scope dressed in team attire.

``I feel like there will always be an attachment to the logo, and it's going to be strange in the beginning,'' Franklin said. ``But I also understand that business is business.''

Cullen declined comment on the change Tuesday but had staunchly defended the logo in the past.

Several years ago, during an ECHL meeting, he was told by a representative from a sports promotions company he had a ``bland'' logo.

You need an animal with an attitude, Cullen was told. Cullen responded by saying: ``I have an animal with an attitude. His name is (coach) John Brophy.''

In other developments:

The team will also announce a six-game package of games to be broadcast by WPEN-TV. The Admirals haven't been on television since late 1994. Three games will be televised from Scope.

The TV deal is part of an aggressive foray into local sports by WPEN. The station has a Saturday sports show with Tony Mercurio, produces a NASCAR show that is syndicated and is seen weekly by 45 million viewers, and televised five Virginia Roadsters softball games this summer.

``We've found that local sports does real well in this market,'' said Harrison Pittman, WPEN's station manager. The first broadcast will be on Dec. 26, when the Admirals host Richmond at Scope.

The Portland Pirates, the Admirals' AHL affiliate, and the Admirals have jointly signed two more players for next season: All-ECHL defenseman Chris Phelps and Rob Bonneau, a high-scoring forward from the University of Massachusetts.

Phelps was the team's top scoring defenseman last season with 45 points in 58 games. His plus-minus of plus-40 was third-best in the ECHL.

Bonneau was UMass's career scoring leaders with 72 goals and 94 assists in 131 games. The 6-foot, 170-pound left wing played one game in Portland following the college season last year, and had a goal and an assist.

That brings to five the players signed for next season.

Portland has hired former New York Islanders star Bryan Trottier as head coach to replace Barry Trotz, who recently was named head coach of Nashville's NHL expansion team. Trottier will work jointly with Brophy and general manager Al MacIsaac to sign several more players.

Nashville has hired yet another person with local ties - Tom Ward, who led the season-ticket campaign for Hampton Roads' ill-fated NHL expansion team. He has been hired as executive vice president in Nashville.

The team hired former Washington Capitals general manager David Poile as general manager. He helped negotiate the Caps' working agreement with the Admirals. Trotz worked closely with the Admirals staff while in Portland.

The Admirals, who are contemplating a move to the AHL for the 1998-99 season, are negotiating a prospective AHL working agreement with Nashville.

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