THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190738
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Officials of the Canadian Football League's Pirates on Thursday initiated efforts to move elsewhere and began planning season-ticket refunds - effectively ending the team's two-month fling in Hampton Roads.
One day after Old Dominion University officials terminated negotiations with the team for a lease to Foreman Field, Pirates president Lonie Glieberman, coach Forrest Gregg and executive vice president Bill Haase were on the phones with officials in four potential relocation sites.
They declined to name all the cities, but sources say they are Milwaukee, Dallas, Detroit and Shreveport, La., their former home.
Glieberman, whose attempt to move the team to Hampton Roads was nipped in the bud this week when the Norfolk and Virginia Beach city councils' refused to fund Foreman Field renovations - but who on Wednesday vowed, ``It's not over yet'' - confirmed only that Shreveport is a candidate.
Glieberman and his father, team owner Bernie Glieberman, are unpopular in Shreveport, whose city council has threatened to sue the Pirates for $1.5 million for leaving town. Ironically, Shreveport's legal maneuvers may wind up enticing the Gliebermans to return.
Shreveport offered in December to renew a $1 million sponsorship of the team next season, a move made only to bolster the city's legal case. Officials didn't intend for the Pirates to accept the offer, since a Shreveport group has been negotiating the purchase of the Birmingham Barracudas.
However, the Pirates are facing a CFL deadline of Jan. 31 to find a home. Because they have a lease and league approval to play in Shreveport, that would appear to be the easiest move. Moreover, the proposed move of the Barracudas to Shreveport appears to be crumbling, the Shreveport Times reported.
``We're looking at all of our options,'' Glieberman said. ``I'm a capitalist. Just because they don't like me doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to turn to turn down $1 million. If that's our best deal, a million dollars is a million dollars.''
Glieberman acknowledged he'll have a tough time moving anywhere by Jan. 31.
``We found some interest in other cities today,'' he said. ``But the hard part now is we don't have time to do research into an area.''
CFL chairman John Tory agreed.
``If Norfolk is not on the table, it will be difficult to find an alternative site at this time,'' he said. ``No matter how great a site they find, it takes more than two weeks to do due diligence.''
Nonetheless, Glieberman said the team will be playing in 1996.
``My father believes in the CFL and is as determined as ever to play,'' he said. ``Obviously, we'd prefer to play here.''
Of the four possible alternative sites, Milwaukee appears to be the most likely. It is close to the Canadian border and has no NFL competition. The Green Bay Packers announced last year that they would no longer play some home games in Milwaukee.
Moreover, in part because of Gregg, a legendary Packers star, Milwaukee actively sought the Pirates last summer, when the team was seeking to relocate.
The Pirates negotiated a lease agreement last summer with the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which it rejected to move to Hampton Roads. Dallas is Gregg's hometown.
Detroit is the Gliebermans hometown, but it's doubtful the Pirates could negotiate a lease to either Tiger Stadium or the Pontiac Silverdome, the only stadiums large enough for the CFL.
Haase announced Thursday the team will begin mailing letters to its 2,700 season-ticket holders saying refund checks will be sent shortly.
``We've spent a lot of time here, and put out a lot of effort in order to try to make this go,'' said Gregg, who is leaving Hampton Roads today to scout players at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. ``I'm so disappointed. If this was going to be the outcome, I wish we'd known earlier. We're in a tough spot now.'' by CNB