ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
"TEAR THAT SUCKER DOWN!" "Don't you dare!" When it comes to Victory Stadium, the only thing for sure is that people seem miles apart on what to do with it.
Members of Roanoke City Council are likely to get an earful over the holidays about the future of Victory Stadium.
After a consultant outlined several alternatives at a council meeting this week, The Roanoke Times certainly did.
More than 30 readers gave us their opinions on what to do with the 53-year-old, 26,000-seat facility by the Roanoke River.
The consultants outlined a number of options: a major renovation ($11 million to $12 million); tear it down and replace it with a 15,000-seat stadium ($21 million); and, perhaps, build an athletic field house or recreational center with an indoor ice rink, pool, and gym ($7 million to $26 million).
City Council probably will decide which way to go next month. Here's what you readers thought.
Renovate.
Barry Glenn, Patricia Hunt, Harold Bowman and Jeff Wilson - all from Roanoke County - believe renovation is the way to go. They like the idea of tearing out the front seats, raising the field out of the flood zone and enlarging it to allow soccer.
But "somebody should have gotten wise a long time ago and don't put things that will be damaged by floods in flood zones," Bowman says. "Because flood zones are always flood zones forever, and floods tend to get worse with time."
"Building a new stadium would be ridiculous," Hunt adds. "It's a fine facility that just needs some work."
"Tear it down!"
Folks who side with tearing Victory Stadium down come in two flavors: "rebuild it" and "forget about it."
Troutville resident Rodney Spickard and Roanoker Mike Brewer say the city needs a new 15,000-seat stadium to draw crowds.
"It's an eyesore and needs to be rebuilt," says Dennis Boyer of Roanoke.
" ... Roanoke is not going to be another Charlotte," says Raleigh Court resident Lee Sevigny, a Roanoker for the past 40 years. "So we don't need to have a 20,000- to 30,000-seat stadium."
On the other hand, "I'm not really sure that you even need a stadium downtown," says one man who didn't leave his name. "So why don't we just tear that sucker down?"
For every person with those sentiments, there's a preservationist who believes losing the stadium would be doing away with another part of Roanoke history.
"I think it's a crying shame to even suggest tearing the stadium down," says Roanoker Charles Dorton, who remembers his sons playing football there.
"We've lost too many of our historic buildings, like the tearing down of the front part of Jackson Middle School," says a female caller who didn't identify herself. "You just need to save as much of the old Roanoke as could be saved, in my opinion."
Do nothing.
There already are fine local athletic facilities in the Roanoke Valley - over in Salem, says Roanoke County resident Al Tignor. So why build more?
"We already have a beautiful sports complex in Salem, a football field, AstroTurf, nice baseball diamond," Tignor says. "Duplication of facilities is just a waste of money. I'd like to see us get along and not duplicate the facilities we have in the Roanoke Valley."
A field house/recreational center?
Rodney Lewis of Northwest Roanoke says we need it.
A field house "is a great option because the high schools in the Roanoke Valley, big as they are, have pathetically small gyms," Lewis says.
Boyer concedes the cost is high. But sooner or later, the valley will need one, he argues.
"If you don't do it now, then years later it's going to cost twice the money," he says. " ... We need to invest in our kids' future, and this is the perfect way to do it."
Cynthia Patsel of Garden City says a massive recreation center would keep kids off the street and out of trouble.
But "why do we need any more fitness centers when there's a dozen of them in the city?" asked a female caller who didn't leave her name. "We also have [the Gator Aquatic Center], a pool, over near Madison Middle School in Southwest."
Auto racing.
Pining for the aroma of burning rubber and spent fuel, some readers weighed in for speeding cars and roaring engines. Figuring it would attract the biggest crowds, they want to see the stadium used for auto racing.
For racing fans, there is some good news on that front: under a letterhead titled "Victory Stadium Speedway," racing promoter Danny Taylor (brother of Franklin County Speedway owner Whitey Taylor, who promoted races at the stadium in 1991 and 1992) says he's already booked 13 racing events with the city between May 4 and Sept. 21 of next year.
Jeff Allman of Roanoke thinks the city should renovate the stadium and upgrade the track.
"The municipal stadium down in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Bowman Gray Stadium, has run stock car races on a weekly basis in spring and summer months since 1949, and it's been profitable," Allman says.
"For racing quarter midgets and the smaller stock car-type, go cart-type cars," says Salem resident Steve Lambruscati. "You could actually make some revenue off of it."
Don't, however, try to sell that idea to Lee Sevigny.
"I am thoroughly against having racing at Victory Stadium," she says. "I feel that the area, which involves the hospital [Roanoke Memorial Hospital], is not the place to have auto racing. ... I think [racing] just lends itself to sometimes not the best of crowds."
Envy of Salem?
Reader responses also indicate that some Roanokers are casting jealous eyes at neighboring Salem, its sparkling new baseball stadium and its 10-year-old football stadium, home for the past three years of the Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III football championship.
That 7,200-seat facility, by the way, cost $2.2 million to build in 1985.
Roanoke "is perceived as being cheap," says Boyer. "That's why Salem does all these athletics and promotes their athletes, and their school systems are great."
Charles Dorton says it's "utterly ridiculous" that Roanoke, three times bigger than its neighbor, has given up pushing for major sports events.
"I think Roanoke should get off their butt and try to do the same thing Salem does and try to get some sports, football games over there, high school coverage, some college games," Dorton says. " ... I don't understand what's wrong with the city of Roanoke. Salem right now has four championship features, and, as small as Salem is, it's utterly ridiculous."
"All you have to do is look west toward Salem and see what they've done," adds Rodney Lewis. "How they built a stadium that's not too big, but it's very efficient, very professional-looking."
LENGTH: Long : 131 linesby CNB