The fate of Victory Stadium may still hang in the air, but the athletic stadium has altered the future of Roanoke's Festival in the Park.

Last month members of the festival's board decided to cut the length of the 10-day festival in half, largely because they've decided they can no longer host their big concert at the aging stadium, a decision that has put a dent in the event's piggybank, said Eileen Guerry, president of EventZone, Roanoke's nonprofit events organizer.

A large concert with a well-known (though far from A-list band) at Victory Stadium long served as an integral part of the festival, which will celebrate its 37th year next summer.

Festival in the Park's organizers decided not to use Victory Stadium for this year's event for the first time in nearly two decades because of the ever-present threat of flooding there and the stadium's crumbling condition. Another problem: expenses tied to using the facility combined with the city's push for concession rights at the events, a big source of revenue for Festival in the Park.

In the past, names like Diamond Rio, the Marshall Tucker Band and the Dixie Chicks (before they became a country music sensation) played Victory Stadium as part of Festival in the Park. About 25,000 fans turned out to see the Charlie Daniels Band during 2002's festival.

This year, Festival in the Park organizers staged all musical events on a new stage in Elmwood Park. Opening night centered on the Honky Tonk Tailgate Party, featuring several country entertainers including Rhett Akins and Daryle Singletary. The festival also hosted a number of tribute bands there.

Festival in the Park organizers won't find out specifics on how the event performed financially this year until September, Guerry said. But they already know Elmwood Park didn't draw the kind of crowds organizers were used to at Victory Stadium. The park will hold only about 5,000 people, Guerry said.

"The Roanoke Valley looks forward to that big concert, and not being able to have that was missed," Guerry said.

Larry Landolt, executive director of EventZone, declined to be interviewed, saying he had meetings all day Friday and directed all questions to Guerry. Neither Mayor Nelson Harris nor City Manager Darlene Burcham returned calls to the newspaper.

Guerry said competition from two other events held the first weekend in June, the Sidewalk Art Show and the Drew Exposition at the Roanoke Civic Center, also influenced the board's decision to cut the length of Festival in the Park.

Mickie Kagey, co-chair of the 2005 Sidewalk Art Show, said the show will likely benefit from the lack of competition from the festival.

Sean Jordan, who sells organic foods at a booth on the market for the Roanoke Permacultural Association, thinks a shorter Festival in the Park will help his business.

"When people come down to events, they don't stop because they don't want to go to Festival in the Park with a dozen eggs with them," he said. "If it's not carry-and-eat kind of stuff, they don't want it."

On the other hand, Eric Dresser, owner of Calhoun & Kipp, a gifts and home decoration store on Market Street, said the change could affect his bottom line.

"If I had a vote, sure, two weekends versus one," he said.

Dresser said people on their way to the festival often don't purchase anything at his shop, but that doesn't mean the festivals aren't valuable to his business.

"A lot of the time, they'll look around, get ideas and come back," he said. "We see that with Dickens of a Christmas."

Wendi Schultz had not heard about the change to Festival in the Park when contacted Friday. Schultz ran the festival for 17 years before becoming the tourism and event coordinator for Roanoke County. She was sad, but not devastated over the news.

"If they can't keep it going to the same momentum we had it," she said, "I'd rather see that way than see it go away."