JUST PLOWING OLD GROUND

By    BILL CARDER

WHEN IS a decision a decision, or is this Groundhog Day all over again?

Two-and-a-half years ago, after 16 years of what then-Councilman Nelson Harris called "debate ad nauseam," the Roanoke City Council made a decision to build a new stadium-amphitheater at Orange Avenue and Williamson Road. The council, along with management and staff, studied, modeled, met, discussed, received input and debated all of the same issues that are being brought up today by Brian Wishneff. These were even brought up to the school board of which Wishneff was a member at that time, and Wishneff had nothing to say then.

There were and are a few right solutions, as there are with many issues we face. A debate on the merits was made for a variety of locations and proposals. At times, this debate was heated, but I believe it was thorough.

Everything Wishneff talks of today was discussed by council, management, staff and our consultants then. It was a process that took months and a lot of time and effort by many individuals, but we finally made the decision to build the facility at Orange Avenue and Williamson Road. I believe that decision was the best at that time, and I believe it is now.

Were there other right answers? Yes. There were those on the council who debated the merits of the Victory Stadium site, and their points were valid, just as were Orange Avenue, Brandon Avenue, Valley View and others.

But at some time, consensus must be reached and a decision made. And we made one. The shame about what is happening today is once more the children are the ones who suffer. If this debate causes the new stadium not to be built, nothing will be built for years. It will be Groundhog Day again - no venue for the student athletes to compete on, just a reopening of an old wound.

It will start again: Victory Stadium, what will be the scope of the renovations? Do we move it out of the flood plain? Do we redo the locker rooms? How much should we spend?

One solution being bantered is to scrap all the plans for a new stadium or Victory Stadium renovation and have the school system solve its own problem of high school athletics; force it to build a stadium at each school. That would be tragic. Given the state of funding of education and building projects, I doubt we would see anything new in my lifetime.

Now 18 years and counting . . . time to move on.