THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 1997             TAG: 9701280011
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   20 lines

THE RHINOS AND HOLIDAY INN

Regarding Alex Marshall's excellent article describing the hopes, fears and flawed planning for the Holiday Inn/Howard Johnson hotel located at the suggested site for the hockey arena, I could not avoid the feeling that ``Rhino planning fantasy'' could be substituted for ``Holiday Inn.''

Wouldn't it be ironic - and costly - if within the relatively short period of 35 years there were two ``failed planning ideas'' for the same site? But, then, the comparison might be less valid since planning for the Rhino arena apparently provides for a taxpayer bailout in the manner of the Nauticus project.

MERLE M. HERSHEY

Virginia Beach, Jan. 16, 1997