ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
ALLEGATIONS OF PRICE FIXING have the shoe company shelling out millions, some of which will go to Roanoke inner-city youth programs.
If you bought Reebok or Rockport shoes two years ago, you could have been a victim of an alleged price fixing that may have soaked consumers across the country for millions.
Now, Reebok International Inc. is paying up to the tune of $9.5 million. And part of it will mean a refurbished baseball diamond and a summer canoeing program for hundreds of Roanoke inner-city youths.
The city this month will receive $20,000 from Attorney General Jim Gilmore as part of a cash settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Reebok.
The Department of Parks and Recreation will use $15,000 of the settlement to help start a wilderness canoeing program.
The other $5,000 will be spent on improvements for a baseball field at Eureka Park.
Reebok denies it fixed prices on 3 million pairs of shoes sold in 1993. But it has agreed to pay $9.5 million, divided equally among all 50 states, to settle claims that the company prohibited retailers from selling its products below certain price levels.
Virginia's share of the settlement works out to $194,295. Gilmore earlier this year solicited applications from Virginia localities for shares of the money.
Roanoke's application, by Parks and Recreation Manager John Coates, was one of 12 submitted to the attorney general.
The summer canoeing program will begin next year, Coates said Monday.
"We're going to look at inner-city kids, underprivileged kids, and offer them an out-of-doors experience they wouldn't normally have access to," Coates said.
The program will combine environmental education with adventure recreation on navigable waters on the Roanoke and James rivers and perhaps Craig Creek.
The program will serve hundreds of children and teen-agers, Coates said.
The other $5,000 will pay for fixing a backstop at Eureka Park, as well as improving play areas and reconditioning the diamond's infield.
Funds will also go to:
The Richmond Department of Parks and Recreation, which is receiving $30,000 to cover start-up costs of an intramural flag football program.
The Richmond-based Friends Association for Children, for year-round tennis, basketball and boxing programs serving children ages 5 to 15.
The Richmond Cerebral Palsy Center, $30,000 for a handicapped-accessible playground and basketball court.
The city of Hampton, which is getting $44,295 for new or improved soccer fields, basketball courts and tennis courts in low-income neighborhoods.
St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, $40,000 to assist construction of an athletic and recreational center for minority students and faculty members.
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