Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 9, 1995 TAG: 9508090058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Speedway president Clay Campbell said Tuesday that work on a 6,500-seat grandstand between Turns 3 and 4 will ``hopefully begin'' in November, with completion scheduled in time for the April 1996 Winston Cup weekend.
The 45-row grandstand would occupy what has been the location of the track scoreboard. However, the scoreboard will be gone by next month's Winston Cup and SuperTruck racing weekend, replaced by a new, three-sided board above the infield.
The expansion, bringing Martinsville's capacity to more than 65,000, will leave the sections right above Turns 3 and 4 as the only spaces without seats. Eventually, Campbell said, the desire is to fill those areas, too, bowling in the .526-mile track.
MORE BRICKS: Now that the Avalanche is playing in Memorial Stadium, some construction work will continue during the day, but Salem assistant city manager Forest Jones said most other major work on the park won't be completed until the end of the season.
One intended piece of the superb facility that hasn't been discussed lately is an on-site office building for the Avalanche. Jones said that when the city and contractors decided to concentrate on getting the park ready for occupancy during this season, discussions about the office stopped.
Salem Mayor Jim Taliaferro, Avalanche owner Kelvin Bowles and Jones will meet about the proposed building in the future, but no date is set. In addition to team offices, the building was to contain a souvenir store open year-round. Also, officials with the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame have written to Jones about locating the Hall in the same facility.
Jones said the 5-year-old Hall of Fame, which has its display cases in the Salem Civic Center lobby, has indicated that it hopes to raise funds for its portion of the project. If the Hall is to prosper, it needs just that kind of enhancement and space.
``It's another thing we have to talk about,'' Jones said. ``We've been so busy just getting the ballpark to where the team could play in it.''
THE LINEUP: It's going to take some patience by all parties in the new Salem ballpark, as spectators learned Monday night while waiting in long concession lines. One fan said he got in line twice and stood for almost four innings.
Two of the six concessions windows are not ready to open, but if the club continues to draw big crowds, it's apparent the Avalanche will need more help serving the public. It's not an easy situation for the ballclub, which has moved to a facility twice as large as Municipal Field and is in a learning curve, too.
The Avalanche knows it must find a way to move fans through those lines. The faster the lines, the happier the fans and the larger the profit, of course. If long lines continue, perhaps the club needs to add more vendors roaming the stands. A few more ushers would help, too, although sections and seats in the park are clearly marked in public view.
The bottom line for spectators? Salem has provided a superb facility. Now, it's the Avalanche ownership and staff that will determine how enjoyable the ballpark experience is for fans, some of them as new to the game as the ballpark they're visiting.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB