Residents From Around Region Rally for Baseball Stadium

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Residents from Loudoun and Fairfax counties and as far away as Maryland, young children and old men, grandfathers, uncles, parents, baseball coaches, small business owners, hotel managers and one recognizable Hall of Famer, all joined together to voice their support for minor league baseball in Loudoun on Monday at a public input session before the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

Following a brief rally in the courtyard in front of the Loudoun County Government Center in Leesburg, dozens of area residents took to the podium in support of a special exception that would allow zoning for the construction of a minor league baseball stadium at the intersection of Routes 28 and 7 in Ashburn.

Sharing childhood memories of baseball games and calling for investment in economic opportunities within the county, those present displayed resounding support, which would continue the process of bringing a new Atlantic League franchise to the area.

"Baseball is about connecting generations," Former Baltimore Oriole third baseman and Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson said. "I think everyone here probably has a baseball memory."

Robinson greeted local residents, signed autographs and posed for pictures before stepping to the podium to endorse the Virginia Investment Partners' (VIP) bid to bring baseball to Loudoun. Robinson, along with fellow Hall of Famer and Washington Senator Harmon Killebrew, baseball executives John Horshok and Peter Kirk and Dr. Tom Songster, who worked with the International Special Olympics, make up the Kincora Baseball Advisory Board, which has been an active proponent in the Kincora Stadium project. Robinson is a member of a group that currently owns three of the eight Atlantic League teams.

The Atlantic League is an independent minor league that is unaffiliated with major league ballclubs and lacks standard level classification. But Robinson did not hesitate to suggest the league's merit and quality of play.

"I can tell you, in baseball terms, it's like AA pitching and AAA hitting," he said. "It's better than you get at Potomac, better than you get in Bowie, Maryland, better than Cal Ripken Stadium, sometimes it's better than the Nationals or the Orioles."

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Loudouners Show Support for Baseball Stadium

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Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson signs autographs at a rally before Monday's Loudoun County Board of Supervisors public input session regarding Loudoun's bid for a minor league baseball team. Robinson, who addressed the Board during the session, is a member of the Kincora Baseball Advisory Board which hopes to bring an Atlantic League team to Ashburn. (Matt Brooks)

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Loudoun Little League baseball players showed their support for a minor league stadium in the county during a rally before the Board of Supervisors convened. From left - Griffin Buscavage (11), Jack Howard (11) and Cameron Eck (12). (Matt Brooks)

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Members of the community addressed the Board of Supervisors to voice their support of building a minor league baseball stadium in Loudoun County. (Matt Brooks)

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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors listened to dozens of area residents explain their support for baseball in the county during a public input session on Monday. The Board will vote Tuesday on a special exception that would allow construction of a 5,500-seat baseball stadium at the intersection of routes 7 and 28 in Ashburn. (Matt Brooks)

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The Kincora Baseball Advisory Board, headed by baseball executive John Horshok and including Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Harmon Killebrew, handed out paraphernalia to support their proposed 5,500-seat minor league baseball stadium in Ashburn. (Matt Brooks)

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Ashburn Village resident Rosalie Titus and her three daughters showed their support for baseball in Loudoun during a public input session before the Board of Supervisors on Monday. Behind them, Broad Run baseball coach Pat Cassidy and Potomac Falls coach Joe Terango look on. Both coaches voiced their support for a stadium in the county earlier in the evening. (Matt Brooks)

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An artist's rendering of Kincora Stadium. (Photo Provided by CMSSARCHITECTS)

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Many residents explained how a local sports team and entertainment destination would provide a sense of community and allow families to spend quality time together at an affordable price. Norman Duncan recounted memories of watching the Washington Senators play while growing up in the area.

"A baseball team produces an intimate community of sports lovers and loyal fans," Duncan said. "It brings together a group of supporters who help sustain the financial viability of the investments as they contribute to the community."

Potomac Falls baseball coach Joe Terango discussed the prospect of hosting state tournaments at the new stadium while Broad Run coach and lifelong Loudoun resident Pat Cassidy talked about the value of baseball in his childhood and how he wished to share that with his children.

"Some of the best memories from my childhood involved going to Baltimore with my father to watch the Baltimore Orioles play," Cassidy said. "I have three young children now and I would love to have the opportunity to experience those same kind of memories that I had with my father driving to Baltimore right here in Loudoun County."

Early last month, VIP Baseball reached a deal with the eight-team Atlantic League of Professional Baseball to bring a new team to Loudoun pending the construction of the proposed 5,500-seat Kincora Stadium. The privately funded stadium would be built amid a 314-acre office and retail development scheduled to be completed by May 2011.

The Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday whether or not to allow the special exception that would enable plans to progress for stadium construction. The surrounding proposed development, which would include 1,400 apartments and condominiums, a YMCA, a cultural center, hotels, a fire-rescue station and a nature preserve, requires a second re-zoning approval that is scheduled to come before the Board in October.

"The enthusiasm continues to grow," 55-year-old Leesburg resident Don Chapman said. "I think the fan-base is here, I think the money is in this county and that we would definitely come out and support a minor league ballclub here."

With primary concerns about traffic flow and environmental impact addressed at the public hearing on June 8th, Tuesday's vote could signal the next step in the process of bringing an Atlantic League franchise to Loudoun in time for the start of the 2011 season.

"It's family entertainment," Robinson said. "Instead of going in to Nationals Stadium they could come to our ballpark and have just as much fun. You can always go to a major league game but it's just an experience that you have to see, minor league baseball played at its best."

Tagged: Ashburn, baseball, Kincora Stadium, minor league, sports

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