Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 5, 1994 TAG: 9410050107
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER NOTE: above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The scene was a phone call Friday to Roanoke's Economic Development office.
Only a day before, the Walt Disney Co. had surrendered in a much publicized battle to build a theme park near Haymarket in Prince William County.
Economic development specialist Doug Chittum was telling a caller that his boss, acting chief Phil Sparks, would be back from a Disney brainstorming session soon.
"I know that, because we have a meeting over a real economic development project at 4 o'clock," Chittum said.
Later Friday night, Mayor David Bowers was warming up a crowd at a downtown fund-raiser for U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb.
Bowers, the self-described "P.T. Barnum of Roanoke," couldn't resist a Disney plug.
"If the telephone rings and the mouse is on the other end, tell them the mayor is on the way! We want Disney in Western Virginia!" he said.
The contrast between the statements highlights some troubling questions confronting officials across Virginia, who are now dreaming of bringing Mickey Mouse and his Magic Kingdom to their cities, counties and towns.
Do their areas have what it takes? Can they measure up?
Disney, which says it still wants to develop a history-related theme park in Virginia, is keeping mum on where it may go. In fact, said spokeswoman Claudia Peters, "we haven't developed the criteria yet" for a new location.
But they did have a list of essential ingredients that led them to choose Haymarket over 30 other possible sites. And by examining that, one can make a pretty good guess at whether Southwest Virginia fulfills those needs.
The bottom line: In some respects, the region is ideal; in other ways, it is woefully lacking.
First, the good points: the unclogged highways of Southwest Virginia, the region's friendly attitude toward business, cheap land, comparatively low taxes.
The region also has a stable labor force compared with Northern Virginia, Sparks said. Annual turnover here at manufacturing companies is estimated at 4 percent, while closer to Washington it hovers around 15 percent.
And people are throwing out the welcome mat.
Pulaski Town Council on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of a resolution inviting Disney to Southwest Virginia. A group of Roanoke Valley government officials and business boosters met last week to figure out ways to bring Disney here.
Wythe County has witnessed a resurgence of hopeful rumors about a Disney front company purchasing options on huge parcels of land near the intersections of Interstate 77 and 81 in the Fort Chiswell area.
And Benny Burkett, executive director of the Wythe County Industrial Development Authority, said he's certain he could find Disney a site.
Droves of citizens, meanwhile, are lining up to sign petitions in favor of the company's coming here. That's a stark contrast to Northern Virginia, where the grass-roots action was all against the entertainment conglomerate.
Gary Foutz, a Roanoke exterminator, began passing his pro-Disney petition around at a flea market over the weekend. Within a short time, he had almost 200 signatures. He expects hundreds more.
"People are just tickled to see something like this going on," Foutz said.
Moreover, Roanoke is the only urban area in the state that meets federal clean air standards, Sparks noted.
That may be important to Disney, because the company pulled out of Haymarket in part because opponents contended the cars coming to its park would worsen an already bad smog problem.
On the other hand, the region lacks a number of essential ingredients that a Disney theme park couldn't do without.
The first is tourists. The company's initial search for a site was limited to areas within one hour of Washington, D.C. That's because 16 million to 20 million tourists flock to the nation's capital annually, a ready-made market for a theme park focusing on U.S. history.
In that respect, Roanoke can't come close, Sparks acknowledged.
"We just don't have the population influx that you would find in Northern Virginia," he said.
Another crucial factor is the labor force. Western Virginia doesn't have 19,000 or so unemployed people within an easy commute of any possible site. That's how many workers Disney's America would likely use, according to the company's forecasts.
For instance, while the intersections of I-77 and I-81 make Wythe County ideal from a traffic perspective, the nearest town, Wytheville, has only about 8,000 residents.
"They'd have to import labor to go there," said Michael Hensley, director of Virginia Tech's Economic Development Assistance Center.
The region also lacks a major international airport like Dulles, which is only a 20-minute drive from Haymarket. Two other large airports - Baltimore-Washington International near Baltimore and Washington National in Northern Virginia - are a short distance away.
Hensley said if Disney moves ahead with its plans, the Williamsburg area is probably the next best shot. Between the historic village and Busch Gardens, that area already draws large numbers of history buffs and amusement park enthusiasts.
But, Hensley said, "I doubt that Disney will be seriously considering anywhere in Virginia for a future location. I can't imagine they walked away feeling very good about what happened to their image in [the Northern Virginia] battle. And to Disney, image is everything."
Staff writers Paul Dellinger and Dwayne Yancey contributed to this story.
by CNB