Fredericksburg ball park: It’s more than just baseball, councilman says

The Fredericksburg Nationals will be playing their home opener in a brand new “state of the art” facility on April 23.

Pretty exciting. Pro baseball featuring future Washington Nationals in a brand new stadium right here in our home town.

But what about the other 295 days? And just what is “state of the art?”

Fredericksburg at large councilman Matt Kelly clarifies that this is not just your grandfather’s stadium but a multi-use facility.

“New stadiums can’t be just tied to baseball. They need to host corporate and indoor events, family events. Some people have had weddings at ballparks,” says Kelly.

And not only has FredNats ownership signed a long term agreement with the city they have “leased the neighbor Fredericksburg Expo Center from the Silver Companies and hired the Oak View Group  Facilities, “ to handle the booking of non-baseball events at both locations,” Kelly said.

Oak View Group Facilities “is a leader in providing live content and operating entertainment and sports facilities,” according to a FredNats press release.

Celebrate Virginia Live concert previously held at nearby Marks and Harrison Amphitheatre will move to the stadium, says Kelly.

“Added seating and lighting “ will be an advantage over Marks and Harrison.

“Oak View Group and the Silber Family are coordinating plans for a concert series in the ballpark with performances beginning in May,” reads a statement in the press release.

Kelly adds that the model of this facility is a “unique one,” in that normally a locality builds a stadium and then leases it to an entity.

In  this case, the team owns the stadium and will lease it to the city for $1 million per year, the city being its “prime tenant.” The city will then host events to garner revenues. By doing so, the city does not “add to its debt service,” says Kelly.

He also added that the stadium will be a model for other venues for “years to come.”

On April 23 the home season of the Fredericksburg Nationals begins in earnest. The following month a reported concert series will begin.

One could say that Fredericksburg’s newest star will soon be on full display.

As for the Celebrate Virginia Live concert series, “as far as we know there are no plans for any 2020 events on the former Celebrate Virginia Live Afterhours land,” said Fredericksburg City spokeswoman Sonja Cantu.