THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406160628
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940616 LENGTH: Medium
The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and ODU are going to spend $50,000 apiece to find out. A $100,000 feasibility study for a big-time regional arena at ODU will be conducted under the auspices of the Sports Authority of Hampton Roads.
{REST} ODU officials previously had announced plans to build a 9,000-seat athletic and convocation center at a cost of $30 million as part of a campus expansion east of Hampton Boulevard.
Art Collins, executive director of the planning district commission, said a number of ``sports-minded'' individuals in the community asked ODU to consider a regional venture to build a larger facility.
Hampton Roads already has two arenas, in Norfolk and Hampton, with roughly 10,000-seat capacities, considered too small to attract major sporting events such as an NCAA basketball tournament.
Paul Fraim, a Norfolk city councilman and member of the planning commission and sports authority, said discussions of a joint venture with ODU for a regional facility are in the exploratory stage.
``If Old Dominion is going to spend so many millions of dollars for an arena of that size (9,000 seats), would it make sense for the city or the region to add on to the size of that facility?'' Fraim asked. ``That is what the study will address, and Old Dominion has expressed a willingness to cooperate. Whether the idea will bear fruit or not, I am not sure.''
One drawback is that the the arena under consideration may not have the extras - such as sky boxes and office space - to accommodate a major league basketball or hockey franchise.
``Sometimes the interests of the parties at ODU and those interested in bringing a major league franchise to the area don't marry too well,'' Fraim said. ``There would have to be lots of discussion about what we need, and whether the location is suitable.''
John Broderick, an ODU assistant vice president for institutional advancement, said the school was interested in a joint venture because it would allow for construction of much larger facility than previously discussed.
``We can't afford to build a facility that large, but perhaps it could be in our best interest to cooperate on something like that,'' he said.
Broderick said he realizes one of the reasons the region would want a larger facility would be to attract a major-league professional franchise.
``We would have to have discussions on terms of shared usage,'' he said. ``We'd have to look at all the possibilities and see what the study suggests.''
{KEYWORDS} PROPOSED ARENA STADIUM
by CNB