With Yes Vote, Loudoun Baseball Stadium Nearing Home

“I feel like I’m 12 years old again,” said Waterford’s Robert Farren, managing partner of VIP Baseball, a group wanting to bring a team to Loudoun. “I can’t wait till that first pitch in 2011.”

The stadium is part of a $3 billion proposed development of homes, offices and shops called Kincora. The development would be built on nearly 400 wooded acres near the Routes 7 and 28 intersection and across from the Dulles Town Center, which is also supposed to grow in the coming years.

To help make its vision a reality, the developer, NA Dulles Real Estate Investor LLC, had to file two land-use requests with the county. A rezoning application, which will be taken up by the board this fall, is needed for the developer to bring office buildings, shops and 1,400 apartment-styles homes to the property. Meanwhile, the special exception was required for the construction of eight more office buildings and the ballpark, a key draw, according to the developer, that will bring thousands of shoppers to the area throughout the summer months.

The 5,500-seat stadium will be home to a team from the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a group of minor league squads unaffiliated with Major League Baseball. The eight-team league, which has fielded such players as Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco, wants to start playing in Loudoun in May 2011.

As part of its many concessions made with the county, the developer said weekday games would not start before 7 p.m. and fireworks would be reserved for the weekend. Also, when games are not scheduled, it promised to make the stadium available to county schools and parks and recreations programs. There has also been talk to hold concerts at the venue. Maximum capacity will be 10,000 people.

To help get the special exception approved, a Loudoun baseball advisory board was established, which had heavy-hitting major league legends like Brooks Robinson and Harmon Killebrew lobby board members for their support.

Still, with the big league backing and Tuesday’s vote, a stadium in Loudoun is still far from certain. The developer still needs to secure financing for construction. Also, approval of the houses and retail remains in doubt, as some supervisors have already said they may not support the rezoning application when it reaches them later this year. The developer has said homes and retail are key in making Kincora a financially viable project.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the only board members who voted against the stadium proposal were Supervisors Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) and Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac).

“This is a decision that will impact us for the next 50 years,” McGimsey stated. “This stadium will cause backups on Route 28.”

Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles), who thought the developer made too many changes to its application since a public hearing in June, abstained.

As for the supporters, many expressed a need to bring more family-friendly entertainment to Loudoun. They also praised the developer’s promise to occasionally lend out the facility for youth sporting events.

“It’s something the entire community can be proud of,” said Supervisor Sally Kurtz (D-Catoctin).

However, mostly due to traffic and environmental concerns, not all the supporters whole-heartedly backed the stadium.

One of those was Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg), who said the developer’s promises to build a sustainable stadium and to plant trees and to protect the Broad Run waterway finally swayed her to vote yes.

“If I had all the money in the world. I would buy this property and keep it the way it is,” she said. “This is not the best application. But it is a good application.”