Ball Two for Kincora Stadium

After an unenthusiastic reaction from the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors at the June 8 public hearing regarding the special exception to build a baseball stadium on the Kincora property near the intersection of Routes 7 and 28, county staff was looking for a more positive response on June 22 at the Transportation and Land Use Committee meeting. But once again, the proposal was met with less than open arms.

Kincora Baseball Investment Group established the Kincora Baseball Advisory Board on May 29, 2009 to head the effort to build a stadium in Loudoun County. According to Kincora’s Mike Scott, “The area is thirtieth largest in the country in terms of population, and has a very strong demographic in terms of household income; a market that big that doesn’t have a team is an excellent opportunity for a successful franchise.” The baseball park is proposed to be a part of the Kincora Mixed-Use Development, and is set to be finished by the spring of 2010.

The meeting began with a discussion about the application’s impact on employment, transportation and the environment. The keynote application was addressed initially, with the clarification that the planned office buildings would be set street side, thus creating a screen so that the stadium may not be visible from Route 28. Staff explained that the office buildings will be “characteristically keynote,” which implies that they will be no less than four stories high.

Subsequent to the keynote application discussion, staff moved quickly to the issue of traffic. After listing questions that were asked at the public hearing—the effect of stadium traffic during peak hour traffic, traffic during games, the number of lanes needed—the Kincora representative assured the committee that all issues had been resolved. She stated that a traffic director will be employed, new traffic signals will be constructed and turn lanes will be designed on Pacific Boulevard.

The representative also clarified that special events will be held only on weekends, in order to avoid traffic build-ups during the week.

The air in the room changed dramatically as the representative began to discuss the environmental issues that the stadium will cause. County staff was unable to answer many of the committee members’ questions, stating that there had been “a lack of dialogue between the county and the applicant” regarding environmental concerns.

The applicant noted that he had met with the Wildlife Conservatory to determine that the stadium is “not an issue, in terms of a setback,” and went on to discuss the slopes and the run-off that will be created, which is still unresolved.

In addition to the three primary issues, the committee brought up questions regarding stadium capacity, economic development, and the timeline of the project. In reference to the matter of stadium capacity, the applicant stated that the stadium would be able to hold approximately 5,500 people and about 100 employees. Currently, there is a set number of 15 special events per year, though the Committee questioned the necessity of a cap.

Economically, the stadium appears to be beneficial to the county. The applicant claims that stadium will prove to be a magnet for the offices, as shown through analogous situations of other ballparks schematically located near office buildings. The applicant repeatedly referenced the Long Island stadium where the Ducks–also a part of the Atlantic League–play baseball. The Long Island stadium has been economically successful, and the architect foresees the same outcome for the park in Loudoun.

The question regarding timeframe, asked by Chairman Susan Buckley (D-Sugarland Run), proved to be the most difficult for the applicant, and county staff to answer.

The applicant stressed the importance of making a decision on the park in June, as the Atlantic League is hesitant to invest too much time in a project that isn’t certain to play out. It was noted that the sooner a decision is made, the sooner the project can begin, with a target date of Spring 2010 as a realistic deadline for completion. The committee, especially Supervisor Lori Waters (R- Broad Run), appeared flustered by the tight deadline and the apparent lack of dialogue between Loudoun County and the applicant.

The committee called another meeting in order to give the county staff and the applicant time to meet and discuss unresolved issues. The follow-up meeting will take place June 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the County Government Building.