A new Potomac Nationals (High A; Carolina League) ballpark won’t open until 2018 at the earliest, as owner Art Silber adjusts the ballpark plan and financing arrangement for the proposed project at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center.
Silber had an ambitious plan to sign up naming-rights sponsors to defray at least half of the cost of the proposed $70-million project. But it’s been a hard year for Silber: he’s now saying a naming-rights partner is not in the works, Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center is under new ownership, and the ballpark development has stalled. From Potomac Local:
“We were just trying to do something that was unrealistic,” said Silber. “No one has ever been successful in finding a naming rights sponsor before a stadium is built.”…
“Setbacks have stalled the team…I still have hope it will happen,” said Richard Lake, of the Roadside Development partnership that developed Stonebridge, at a Prince William County Department of Economic Development forum at held at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
That the project has stalled is no secret — but then again, many readers know that most new-ballpark projects develop in fits and starts, not on a smooth trajectory. Much more worrying is a statement from Silber that the team needs to raise $35 million toward the $70 million facility: that’s a serious amount of money still needed. In the meantime, the P-Nats will continue to play at Pfitzner Stadium, the team’s home for 32 years.
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