backrow
04-24-2008, 11:28 PM
From having lived in the Norfolk/Va. Beach area for 35 years, the Beach is quite booked thru the summer already. TC at the Sportsplex was a pipe dream. Va Beach will never opt for anything remotely Major League or Professional in nature. There is a BIG rift between the Beach and every other Tidewater city in regards to Sports hosting.
Keep your reservations for Summer TC at Redskins Park.
The Beach won't even connect the dots with Norfolk in a Light Rail agreement. Folks live at the Beach and commute to the Naval Base. Sensibility does not hold a seat on the Beach Council.
81forHOF
04-25-2008, 12:02 PM
I live 7 miles from Carlisle....Bring it on Back Baby!!!!
KLHJ2
04-25-2008, 12:07 PM
It's only about 20 min from me right now so I really don't mind that it's not leaving.
Slingin Sammy 33
04-25-2008, 04:44 PM
Being a resort city I think your a little off on where people would be willing to stay and/or spend their money for a weekend getaway or whatever the case might be. I think most people coming to VA. beach would stay at the waterfront, on the ocean vs. driving to Chesapeake, which would mean a good piece of revenue in itself, not to include dinning, shopping, gas, and all the little things you buy while on the road that add up to alot.
And if they had done any decent pre-planning with this amount of time to work with, (they didn't start on this yesterday) the could have probably raised most of the funds through private investors to begin with. This is typical VA. beach, business as usual.
Agreed this is typical Va Beach, as a tax-paying citizen I am embarassed to say that. The City Council isn't the sharpest bunch and they're pretty much bought & paid for by the hotels & developers.
But my point is as backrow said, the Oceanfront is normally booked and the prices jacked up so unless a family has already booked a vacation here (in which case training camp isn't creating the revenue) people coming down just for camp will probably opt to stay in the more reasonably priced hotels in Chesapeake in the Greenbrier area. Travel from Greenbrier to the Sportplex vs. the Oceanfront to the Sportsplex is actually faster from Greenbrier without traffic.
The things people buy are great, but the City would only be getting the local taxes charged on food. The amount of revenue to the City would be minimal compared to a $ 2.5M investment. If private sponsors want to pony up then great (and yes the City should've been working this well in advance), but no way the City should foot the bill for this. There is really no tangible ROI for the City.
riggins44
04-25-2008, 05:47 PM
It would have been a big financial boom for the area. With the chance that Navy could pull jets from Oceana and possible loss of a carrier at Norfolk, Redskin Training Camp would go a long way to easing the pain.
I agree that VA Beach dropped the ball on this one. Maybe the Skins will
look at Williamsburg as a possible destination again. That would be even
easier for me to get to.
Riggo44
04-25-2008, 06:33 PM
I think the Redskins should have training camp in Thousand Oaks CA like the Cowboys did so that the fans on the west coast can go.:yeahright
mcarey032
04-27-2008, 12:27 AM
whats the big deal about carlisle? isnt it further away than ashburn? just wondering.
Yes quite a bit further away from NVA. The whole point of going up there was because it was a way to keep out distractions and build team. Now the players just go home to their own beds and don't really do all the team chemistry stuff. Although, I heard in an interview about the team chemistry with our team that they have been doing bible study and praying together after Sean Taylor's death. I wouldn't mind seeing the training camp moved necessarily, but I don't think that it is going to happen