Editorial: Home Run or Third Strike?

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is currently reviewing a special exception that would allow for the construction of a baseball stadium off Route 28, opposite of the Dulles Town Center. If you have an opinion on the matter, it’s best to contact your supervisor now, as the decision will be fast upon us.

Concerns have been raised regarding the haste of the application, its impact on traffic and the environment. In the long run, these factors may not play a strong role in the debate—most of the alternative uses would have a similar impact on traffic, and a more severe impact on the environment. Ideally, these questions will be resolved over the next few weeks, so that the county can focus on the real question—Do we want a stadium, or not?

When judging whether or not to bring a team to Loudoun, a major factor has escaped scrutiny. Will it make money? It’s important for Loudoun to remain pro-business, but we want to encourage those businesses that are profitable—and therefore contribute to the commercial tax base and spread the wealth through local nonprofits. So close to a “football” town of Washington, it’s difficult not to wonder whether there is really a thirst for minor league baseball—and if it would truly thrive in this environment. While most would agree that a stadium is preferable to many types of alternative developments, a poor stadium—or worse, an abandoned stadium—is not something that Loudoun would readily recover from.

There are several good reasons to bring the stadium here, but the best is a holistic argument. There are many who say that the severe road improvements on Route 28 and Route 7 have served to “balkanize” various communities in Loudoun. With the insertion of a major road (or gradual buildup of the existing roads), communities are split and therefore develop their own character independent from the whole. For better or worse, Sterling Park is distinct from Sugarland Run. Ashburn is distinct from Lansdowne. South Riding is distinct from Arcola. Perhaps it was always true, but the trend is increasing.

One would hope that the construction of a stadium and the establishment of a minor league team would begin to tie the communities of eastern Loudoun together by giving the children (and adults as well) a touchstone that ties them together. Maybe, we would begin to see stronger ties of community and the redevelopment of an eastern Loudoun consciousness.

Perhaps we are romanticizing the impact that “our team” could have on the area. If so, you’ll have to forgive us. It’s baseball.