Civic Center as its regular season home venue, from 2006 to the present season. In 2010, the Roanoke College ice hockey team began using the Roanoke Civic Center as its home venue as well. From the 1940s to the late 1960s, Roanoke's Victory Stadium hosted an annual Thanksgiving Day game between Virginia Tech and the Virginia Military Institute and other high-profile college football games. From 1946 to 1950, Victory Stadium also hosted the South's Oldest Rivalry between the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina. Parks and recreation The Roanoke Valley Chess Club was formed in 1947 in Roanoke, and is the oldest continuing chess club in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The club has served to bring and sustain chess activities to the region, and holds regular events. These events include United States Chess Federation Grand Prix tournaments. The club also holds volunteer annual outreach events during Roanoke's Festival in the Park, Grandin Court Block Party, Tons of Fun, and more. Government Roanoke has a weak mayor-city manager form of government. The city manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the city's government and has the authority to hire and fire city employees. The mayor has little, if any, executive authority and essentially is the "first among equals" on the Roanoke City Council. The mayor, however, has a bully pulpit as Roanoke media frequently cover the mayor's appearances and statements. The current mayor of Roanoke is Sherman Lea and the current city manager is Robert S. Cowell. The city council has six members, not counting the mayor, all of whom are elected on an at-large basis. A proposal for a ward-based council, in which the mayor and vice mayor would continue to be elected at-large, was rejected by Roanoke voters in 1997, but ward system advocates still contend that the at-large system results in a disproportionate number of council members coming from affluent neighborhoods and that electing some or all council members on a ward basis would result in a more equal representation of all areas of the city. The four-year terms of city council members are staggered, so there are biennial elections. The candidate who receives the most votes is designated the vice mayor for the following two years. Independent candidate David A. Bowers, a former Democrat, defeated incumbent Democrat Nelson Harris for Mayor in the May 2008 election with 53% of the vote. In both