Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 31, 1993 TAG: 9308310078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke Valley officials are considering a cooperative venture that would bring an Olympic training site to Southwest Virginia in 1996.
"I'm not saying we're definitely going to go after it," Roanoke City councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden said Monday. "We're considering making a bid."
McCadden said an Olympic training site is just one of several projects being discussed by a newly formed sports committee connected with the Roanoke Valley and Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"No other committee or board has taken as much of my time," McCadden said. "It underscores the need for a regional sports commission or director as soon as possible."
Salem Civic Center manager Carey Harveycutter serves as co-chairman of the committee, which also includes representatives of economic development and recreation departments in the area.
Localities chosen for training sites would serve as hosts for the foreign delegations that will be coming to the United States for training prior to the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.
"It became clear to us that a number of cities wanted to participate and, of course, it was not possible for everybody to have a competitive venue," said Bob Brennan, press chief for the Atlanta Committee for Olympic Games.
"At the same time, we were receiving inquiries from national olympic committees on what kind of sites were available for training."
Brennan said the specific needs for each event were sent to 300 cities, governments and colleges. Approved sites are contained in the Pre-Olympic Training and Acclimation Sites Guide Book.
Of the 100 sites listed in the first printing, none was from Virginia.
"I don't have any [returned questionnaires] from Virginia," Brennan said. "If we get some, we might be willing to publish an addendum. We've got almost three years to go before the Olympics and there are 186 countries. Anybody has a shot."
It is possible that some countries will split their delegations, Brennan said. In other words, a country could send its track-and-field team to one site and its boxers to another.
"The document we sent out asks, among other things, what kind of financial arrangements do you propose," Brennan said. "We haven't asked for any bids, per se. We're like anybody else. We've read where some of these countries will be staying in the newspapers."
Six localities in North Carolina have been approved for training sites, according to Bill Dooley, a former football coach at Virginia Tech and other schools who is the director of sports development in North Carolina.
"I can tell you there's a lot of competition for this," Dooley said.
McCadden said his group hopes to have Roanoke approved as a site by December.
"We understand there will be a second printing of the guide book," he said. "Beyond that, we're going to make a separate plea to individual countries."
McCadden has been at the forefront of the movement to bring the Tour DuPont bicycle race to the Roanoke Valley and his group recently has been approached about a national three-on-three basketball tournament.
"That's amazing considering there's no [sports] commission and no director," McCadden said. "Our committee has actually taken on the responsibilities of a sports coordinator and, let me tell you, it's a full-time job. The number of sports opportunities is astronomical."
by CNB