DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 1997            TAG: 9708270751

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   85 lines

ADMIRALS MUST MOVE UP OR OUT

City officials will require the Hampton Roads Admirals to jump to the American Hockey League in 1998 in exchange for an extension of their Scope lease, sources say.

Admirals owners Mark Garcea and Page Johnson will be offered a three-year lease extension that calls for cancellation of the agreement if they don't leave the ECHL for the AHL for the 1998-99 season.

Sources say city officials have an alternative if they don't conclude a deal with the Admirals - an informal commitment from the Detroit Red Wings to move the AHL Adirondack Red Wings from Glens Falls, N.Y., to Norfolk. Red Wings officials visited Norfolk in March.

The AHL is hockey's top developmental minor league and is considered one step below the NHL. The ECHL is a next-highest developmental league and supplies players to the AHL and International Hockey League.

The Admirals have one year left on their Scope lease and made the city an extension offer in June. Norfolk's counter offer is being reviewed by the city attorney's office before being submitted to the Admirals, probably next week.

Johnson and Garcea have been negotiating with the AHL and appear inclined to move up if they can reach a lease agreement. Johnson has spoken with AHL commissioner Dave Andrews and has gathered budget data on what the move would cost.

``We want to take this team to the highest level we can,'' Garcea said recently. ``But everything has to fit.''

The Admirals have held discussions with three NHL teams about working agreements - Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and the Nashville expansion team. Johnson has put those negotiations on hold until a lease extension has been signed.

Johnson declined comment on the proposed lease: ``I can't comment on something I haven't seen yet.''

So did Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim: ``I'm not comfortable commenting on something that's under negotiation.''

The Red Wings are an attractive alternative for city officials because the team is owned by Michael Ilitch, whose family also owns the Detroit Tigers, Little Caesars Pizza and Olympic Entertainment, Inc., a sports management group.

The Ilitch family has expressed an interest in investing in a new arena should Norfolk decide to build one. If that occurred, Olympic Entertainment might submit a bid to run the new arena.

The Ilitches' net worth is estimated at $625 million by Forbes Magazine. Little Caesars, which has 5,000 franchises, had $2 billion in sales in 1996.

``They have incredible financial resources, and they're interested in doing a lot of things with the city,'' said a city official, who asked not to be identified.

However, Norfolk's first choice to run an AHL team is the Admirals.

City officials recently asked Seattle consultant Bob Walsh to recommend whether the city would be better off with the Red Wings or local ownership. Walsh, who brought the NCAA basketball Final Four to Seattle, headed Vancouver's successful effort to land an NBA team and has worked with Norfolk on the development of MacArthur Center mall, recommended the city stick with local ownership if possible.

The Admirals and city are not far apart on Scope rent. The city wants to increase rent from 11 percent of receipts after taxes to 12 percent. The Admirals have proposed keeping the rent at 11 percent, with rent increasing to 12 percent for any admissions over 220,000 per season.

The Admirals drew 241,000 last season, though slightly less than 220,000 were paid admissions.

The lease to be offered by the city could be canceled by either party after the first or second years.

City officials say privately they want to bring the AHL to Hampton Roads in part to better promote the region with the NHL.

Hampton Roads made its first bid for a major sports franchise last November, when Charlotte businessman George Shinn applied for an NHL expansion franchise.

The bid was turned down in February and further expansion isn't expected for at least five years. Officials think a successful AHL team would help the city in the next expansion round.

They also say being in the AHL would promote the region in major Eastern markets. The AHL has moved teams to Cincinnati, Hartford and Philadelphia within the last year and has a better media profile, with some games televised by ESPN2.

ECHL officials acknowledge privately that if the Admirals move up, so will other teams. Richmond officials have said they would have no choice but to follow. South Carolina, Charlotte and Roanoke are other teams likely to consider jumping leagues. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

AHL Q&A

For complete copy, see microfilm

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