THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996 TAG: 9604250002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Think a ``Virginia Blue Crabs'' logo would look swell on a sweatshirt? Feel any warm fuzzies for ``The Virginia Presidents''? How about a cute little ``Virginia Goober''?
Any nicknames left over from Hampton Roads' quest for a major-league basketball or hockey team could be shipped to Northern Virginia, where promoters are pursuing the dream of summer - a baseball team for the commonwealth.
Since the days when the old Washington Senators gave Virginia a home team (almost), baseball aficionados have longed for a major-league franchise closer than Camden Yards or the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. An assortment of investors have tried unsuccessfully to make that dream a reality.
The latest incarnation of baseball in Virginia was on display in Richmond this week as Virginia Baseball Club members briefed a special legislative study committee on their hopes to build a $290 million baseball park somewhere in Northern Virginia.
The group wants to have a financing plan in place this summer when the Houston Astros presumably go on the auction block. Trouble is, of course, creating a home for ``The Virginia Goobers'' doesn't cost peanuts.
Investors would like the whole state of Virginia to consider itself a partner in attracting an environmentally clean business and tourist attraction. However, initial readings are that a request for $16 million to $19 million a year in state funds to pay off 30-year construction bonds is likely to be a no-sell in Lee County and Smithfield.
More probable - and here the story line starts to have import for sports lovers in Hampton Roads - is an assortment of regional taxes that would add up to the desired sum. The easiest approach would be a regional referendum on a 1-cent increase in the sales tax. If approved, that would produce $18 million a year.
But Gov. George Allen has said no. His deep belief in the voters' right to initiative and referendum is overshadowed by his desire for a uniform sales tax, a spokesman says. Unless supporters wait until Allen leaves office or are strong enough to override a veto, they will have to try stitching together increases in a host of lesser fees, such as car-rental and liquor taxes.
Perhaps a way can be found, but it's a sobering backdrop for civic boosters engaged in the initial steps of creating a sports arena in Hampton Roads. Allen's right to move cautiously on this sort of public/private venture, but he shouldn't stop the game if the people themselves are willing to play. by CNB