DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997               TAG: 9703250002

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   95 lines

SOCCER STADIUM TIME TO GO SLOW PRIME VIRGINIA BEACH PROPERTY AT LAKE RIDGE IS FILLING UP WITH PROJECTS THAT FAIL TO COMPLMENT EACH OTHER.

Virginia Beach City Council is scheduled to vote today on committing 150 acres of land and millions of dollars to a soccer stadium at Lake Ridge, near the GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater.

Proposed is a $9 million multipurpose stadium seating 6,000, which could be expanded to a 35,000-seat Major League Soccer facility, at a cost of about $60 million, assuming an MLS expansion team could be drawn here.

One concern is this: Prime Lake Ridge property, which the city bought two years ago at a bargain-basement price of $9.5 million, is rapidly being taken up by activities that don't complement each other. Certainly no grand design is evident that would make Lake Ridge the crown jewel of Virginia Beach.

Instead, what is emerging is a collection of unrelated and even conflicting activities. The amphitheater owners, for example, oppose having a soccer stadium nearby, so the two facilities cannot even share a parking lot.

A second concern: A soccer stadium is being billed as a multiple-use facility. But a 6,000-seat stadium that would serve youths and minor-league soccer won't work for major-league soccer. And a 35,000-seat stadium for major-league soccer would be too expensive to operate for kids' games. Wouldn't soccer parents rather have the smaller stadium, to be used by a minor league soccer team and kids?

If the city committed to the smaller stadium from the beginning, it would save 100 acres for other uses and reduce building costs by about $2 million. If a major-league later came to Hampton Roads, it might make more sense to build a separate facility.

These are other considerations that argue against building a stadium that could be expanded to major-league size:

Such a stadium would be used for MLS games about 16 times a year. It wouldn't complement the amphitheater on one side or the planned super golf course on the other.

Getting a MLS team is a long shot. Of the 10 MLS teams, all except one are in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles that have other big-league teams. The league, entering its second season, seeks to expand into cities that will give it major-league status. But Hampton Roads also is seeking that status; it doesn't have it to bestow.

A major-league soccer stadium, highly expensive, should be part of a regional effort. If MLS decides to locate here and the region wants to participate, Virginia Beach is the logical site for a soccer stadium. But other cities should pitch in as part of a larger deal that has something in it for them.

Average MLS attendance the first year was only 17,500. With 16 home games a year and ticket prices in the $12 range, a MLS stadium would fall far short of being self-supporting.

So far, soccer is more popular among kids than adults. Many parents would argue that the city needs more neighborhood soccer fields, rather than a central facility a long drive from them.

Some advantages to building an expandable stadium:

Though more expensive than a non-expandable one, it would be higher quality.

If no major-league team ever comes here but minor-league soccer becomes more popular, the stadium could be expanded to fit the need, possibly to 12,000 seats.

Having an expandable stadium keeps Virginia Beach in the hunt for an MLS expansion team, somewhere down the road.

At least while the stadium remained small, it could be used by new high schools, at a savings of $350,000 a school.

Virginia Beach City Council feels rushed to act now because the owners of the Hampton Roads Mariners, the minor-league team that would use the 6,000-seat stadium, say they have no suitable place to play. They are not fielding a team this season. If City Council acts now, they say, they could have a suitable stadium for the following season. They won't say what happens if no stadium is ready next season, but presumably Virginia Beach could lose the Mariners.

We still recommend holding off on the stadium vote long enough for the city to look hard at the whole plan for Lake Ridge property. The city could end up like a person who builds a house and then hires an architect to alter it to look nice. Better for the city to know what it wants before committing to all the parts.

The city needs to make the financial implications clear in either case. If major-league soccer doesn't come to Virginia Beach, is $9 million a fair price for a 6,000-seat stadium to serve youths and a minor-league team? If major-league soccer does arrive, is $60 million a reasonable outlay? The 10 cities with MLS teams all use previously existing stadiums, so there are no benchmarks for what building a soccer stadium should cost.

The proposed stadium deal is different in three major ways from the Rhinos' arena deal, which we supported. One, a hockey arena was not to be built, or land for it even committed, unless a major-league hockey franchise was in hand. Two, financial and fan support for the Rhinos' arena was supposed to be regional. Indeed, state tax breaks were part of the deal. Three, the arena would have had far more non-sport uses than a stadium could. In fact, the Mariners' owners have agreed not to use the stadium for events that might compete with the amphitheater.

Buying the Lake Ridge property was a stroke of genius. Now the city needs to be careful to get the best possible use out of it. A chance like this one comes rarely.

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