THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270686
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Lonie Glieberman says his goal if he moves his Shreveport Pirates from Louisiana to Hampton Roads in time for the 1996 Canadian Football League season is ``to have the lowest priced 55-yard-line seat in the CFL.''
He'd also like to have you sitting at the middle of the league's 110-yard field for three years.
In fact, he's going to insist on it.
In a 90-minute question-and-answer session with editors and reporters at The Virginian-Pilot's Norfolk office, Glieberman, who has announced that he would move his franchise here if a season-ticket drive resulted in 15,000 subscribers by the end of December, added that he will ask all original season-ticket holders to commit for three years.
The trade-off would be that Glieberman vows not to raise season-ticket prices during that time, that subscribers would pay one year at a time and would have a variety of payment plans from which to choose, and that even the best seats at Foreman Field almost surely would be the cheapest in the CFL.
``The price is guaranteed and the seats are guaranteed,'' Glieberman said. ``There would be no price increases for people who sign up for that and that's the protection they have. The protection we have is that this customer is really serious about us, that they really want to do to this. . . . That's what protects you from going from, say, 10,000 (season-ticket orderers) to 3,000 (actual buyers).''
Glieberman said he favors a plan by which season-ticket holders could pay for their tickets - prices haven't been established, but sideline seats at Foreman Field likely will fall between $175 and $215 for a 10-game home schedule, slightly less for end-zone seats - with a 12-month payment plan.
``We find that if people can pay it off with their credit cards once a month, say it's $200 or $185, that's really not a big price to pay each month,'' Glieberman said. ``We tried a 12-month payment plan in Shreveport, too, and people liked it.''
A consultant with whom Glieberman has worked before will join him here this weekend. At that time, Glieberman will decide what to do with Foreman Field's end-zone seats - a possibility is to designate them ``family'' seating and charge a reduced price - and he'll set the campaign in motion. Glieberman figures it will run six to eight weeks, with season tickets secured by a $50 deposit. He said the money would be held in a trust account over which he had no control until the team officially was awarded to the area.
``We made (the down payment) $15 before (in Shreveport) and (residents) didn't actually follow through or decide to pay (the rest of the money),'' he said. ``You don't want to make it a financial burden, but you want people to take it seriously.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
JIM WALKER
The Virginian-Pilot
Lonie Gliebman said $50 deposits would secure season tickets, and
balances would be paid in 12-month plans.
INFOLINE
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