Arlington County, VA, joined Fairfax, Loudoun and Stafford
Counties in "failing" to propose a site for a 45,000-seat
baseball stadium by yesterday's 5pm deadline, causing members of
the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority to say they will now
invite private land owners to offer sites instead of local
governments. According the of the WASHINGTON POST, proponents
said there still was "a chance" to bring baseball to VA next year
although the team would now likely play at RFK Stadium for three
years instead of two. Stadium Authority member David McWatters:
"This is a rain delay. We will get through it." In a letter to
the Authority, Arlington asked to remain in consideration but
refused to pay both a $150,000 application fee and money for a
safety study requested by the FAA. Michael Scanlon, Exec VP of
Virginia Baseball, the group seeking to buy a team, said he did
not think Arlington's withdrawal was "fatal" and indicated
progress in Richmond towards financing "was perhaps more
significant." A legislative panel informally agreed to an
outline where $14M of the estimated $27M in annual payments
would come from new state lottery games, $9M from rent, and $4M
from income taxes from players and staff as well as new sales
taxes generated by the stadium. Scanlon: "Financing the stadium
is 90 percent of the problem. If you get financing, a site will
be found." Authority members said a new search would likely take
three to six months (Lipton & Hsu, WASHINGTON POST, 6/18).
DOMINO THEORY: In DC, Mark Maske reports that Virginia
Baseball believes a possible Brewers move to Charlotte "would aid
their attempts" to buy the Astros if prospective moves by both
teams were considered simultaneously this winter. According to a
source involved in the Northern VA baseball effort, "If there's
something in it for both leagues, I don't see how anyone will be
against it." To which one MLB official responded: "That's
probably a good interpretation" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/18).
FROM NATIONAL TO DULLES: Though the Loudoun County Board of
Supervisors voted 5-4 against submitting any stadium sites,
County Supervisor Scott York is asking New York-based Reliance
Security Co,. owner of a 130-acre tract one mile west of Dulles
Airport, to submit the land to the Stadium Authority (WASHINGTON
BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/14-20).
