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Hounds: New ballpark won’t be ready for 2014 opener

New Loudoun Hounds ballpark

A new Loudoun (Va.) ballpark for the Loudoun Hounds won’t be ready for the 2014 season opener, meaning the team will either play elsewhere while construction work is completed.

According to the Hounds, work is being done on the facility, which is also designed to house professional soccer. The VIP Sports & Entertainment schedule has work on infrastructure and parking done now, with the beginning of the delivery of the precast concrete seating bowl soon, with installation in the fourth quarter of 2013. Soon thereafter, the company expects to start the delivery of structural steel to begin the installation of the remainder of the facility’s superstructure.

This means, of course, that there’s no way a new ballpark can open in time for the 2014 season. And an opening is still is not set, past the third quarter of 2014, which means any time — including August — during the heart of the season.

“We have seen tremendous progress on a number of fronts. However, I regret having to announce that stadium construction will not be completed until third quarter 2014,” said VIP S&E President and CEO Bob Farren. “We continue to appreciate the support of our fans throughout this process and we look forward to the opening of the stadium upon the completion of construction.

“We plan on opening the stadium in time for a portion of the 2014 season. We are working on a number of contingency plans for the Hounds and Cavalry FC to play in the interim. We will keep the community as informed as possible on these plans.”

There has been a lot of rumbling locally about the ballpark being behind schedule or not being built at all, including some rather acerbic commentary via email. How this also plays out in the 2014 independent Atlantic League schedule, should the team participate, remains to be seen as well.

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