The Potomac Nationals expect to announce the naming rights sponsor of its planned $70 million stadium in Woodbridge by December.
The project is slated to be built across the street from Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center. The stadium’s naming sponsor as been a lynchpin in the entire deal, one that does not require any public monies to build the stadium.
The 6,000-seat facility was scheduled to open this year when the project was announced by the ballclub and Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart in 2012. Potomac Nationals Owner Art Silber in January 2014 pushed back the stadium opening date to 2016.
Both Silber and Stewart said there has been a lot of behind-door, ongoing negotiations about which company will purchase the naming rights. Both men say there are some strong prospects but say it would be premature to make any announcement just yet.
“Why would I want to be in one of the worst ballparks when I can be in a palatial environment making five times as much as I’m making now,” quipped Silber.
His team still plays at the 31-year-old Richard G. Pfitzner Stadium at the Prince William County Government Center in Woodbridge. It has been ranked by Minor Leauge Baseball as one of the worst stadiums in the league.
Prince William County officials this year voted to spend $230,000 to expand the stadium’s clubhouse — one of the smallest in the league.
Prince William County owns Pfitzner Stadium, but officials want to see the team boast new digs. For a time, the team threatened to leave Prince William County in search of a new home, where a new stadium could be built. Talk of moving out ended in 2012 when the plan to build a new stadium was announced.
“We’ve got to keep the baseball team in the county,” said Stewart. “It’s important that there be good family-friendly entertainment in the county…people shouldn’t have to leave Prince William County to enjoy themselves.”
Finding a naming rights sponsor for a new stadium for the team, affiliated with the Washington Nationals, has been a slow process. Stewart said it has been difficult selling naming rights for a stadium that doesn’t exist yet.
“We ran into the chicken and egg problem,” said Stewart. “We can’t build a stadium without naming rights, and can’t sell naming rights without a stadium constructed,” added Stewart.
A plan for the Virginia Department of Transportation to fund and build a 2,800-space, $15 million covered parking garage outside the stadium is still in place, Stewart confirmed. The parking lot would be used by commuters during the day and by baseball fans for night and weekend games.
To build a new baseball stadium without taxpayer funding — complete with skyboxes and a restaurant to be open 365 days a year — is almost unheard of.
“It’s extremely uncommon, it’s very rare, to have no public money involved,” said Norfolk Tides Owner Ken Young.
His team is affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. He said he’s very familiar with what Silber is trying build in Woodbridge.
“There’s no question the [Potomac] Nationals would be very successful in new stadium, and would be leader in the Carolina League because the demographics are are so good in the area,” added Young.
The Tides struck a deal with the City of Norfolk to build the team’s $17 million Harbor Park stadium in 1993. The baseball club guaranteed the city $1 million per year, plus $50,000 every four years in revenue generated by a ticket tax and revenue generated by parking fees.
“As it turned out, the city was more successful than what projections were,” said Young. “It’s been an economic success based on how many people we brought downtown for restaurants and other ancillary revenue.”
The Tides has repaid the city for the cost of constructing the stadium, said Young.
