Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 28, 1993 TAG: 9312280179
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He has measured the distances down the foul lines: 315 feet in left field, 330 feet in right field. To the fence in center field, a little more than 400 feet.
The stadium would seat 6,000. It could be used for baseball, football, track and field, concerts, festivals and other events.
The multiuse facility would cost between $5 million and $6 million, he estimates.
Wilkinson even has a name for it: the Noel C. Taylor Festival Stadium.
And he has a proposed site: It would be built between the $42 million Hotel Roanoke and conference center and the Henry Street renewal project.
That's where reality begins to creep into Wilkinson's field of dreams.
Not everyone believes a stadium should be built so close to Hotel Roanoke. The city has eyed the site as the possible location for a convention and trade center.
Others worry that a stadium could disrupt the neighborhood. Still others fear it could hamper plans for the renewal of the Henry Street area, once the center of black stores, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs.
Wilkinson, a 33-year-old businessman who likes baseball, knows there are naysayers, including some City Council members, about the stadium proposal.
Wilkinson's proposal has the support of Councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden, but several council members say they have reservations about it.
Mayor David Bowers said he hopes the Roanoke Valley can keep professional baseball, but he has not endorsed Wilkinson's plan. Bowers said he assumes Salem wants to keep its team, the Buccaneers.
Wilkinson just wants a chance to make his case for the stadium. And he would like to own a minor league baseball team to play there.
Making a convincing argument for his plan might be easier than buying the Bucs.
Wilkinson has talked with Kelvin Bowles, Bucs owner, over the past 18 months about buying the team. Bowles said he has reached a tentative agreement, however, to sell the team to an out-of-town buyer.
Still, Wilkinson has not abandoned his dream of a stadium, even if the outlook for a baseball team in Roanoke seems dim.
He stresses that the stadium would be a multiuse facility that would enhance Roanoke's image as a festival city, long a dream of former Mayor Noel Taylor.
"It would be much more than just a ballpark. It would benefit the entire community. It would be a way to stimulate the Henry Street project, provide a new football stadium, running track and be a place for festivals," Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson, who owns a company that develops and markets retirement communities, got interested in the idea of a downtown ballpark after a visit to St. Louis.
Busch Stadium, the Cardinals' ballpark, has helped stimulate business in downtown St. Louis, Wilkinson said, adding he has visited other cities where smaller stadiums have been built downtown.
"Roanoke is never going to be St. Louis, but I think a stadium would benefit downtown," he said.
As Wilkinson envisions it, the city could pay for the stadium with revenues from games, concessions and rents from stores, shops, restaurants and businesses along Henry Street on the west side.
He said he has hired HOK Sports, a leading sports-architecture firm, to prepare the plan, because he thought his talks with Bowles would lead to his purchase of the Bucs.
Wilkinson believes that new rules on minor league ballparks will require that a new stadium be built in either Salem, Roanoke or Roanoke County to keep the Bucs from being moved.
"Somebody is going to have to build a new stadium," he said. If he buys the team, at a rumored cost of $2 million, he would be willing to talk with Salem officials about a new park even though he has focused on Roanoke.
With a new stadium, he believes the Bucs could nearly double their attendance. The team attracts 140,000 spectators a year, he said, but the rule of thumb for a minor league team is that its attendance should be equal to the population in the metropolitan area - about 250,000.
Wilkinson said many cities are building stadiums in the hope of getting minor league baseball teams.
Wilkinson might find it difficult to persuade some City Council members to support a stadium near Hotel Roanoke, even if he buys the Bucs.
"I'm not interested in spending money on a ballpark. I would not ask our taxpayers to help finance it," said Councilman James Harvey.
Harvey said he doubts that a minor league team would make much money for either the city or its owner.
Councilman John Edwards said it is too early to determine whether a ballpark might be feasible, but the desires of the residents in the Gainsboro neighborhood must be considered. If the residents don't want a stadium, the proposal should be scrapped, he said.
Evelyn Bethel, a neighborhood leader, said she questions whether a stadium would be compatible with the area.
Wilkinson said he has talked about the proposal with Taylor, who is chairman of the Henry Street Revival Committee.
Taylor has said a stadium would conflict with parts of the Henry Street plan. But he said it is too early to judge what is best for the city.
by CNB