Edelman Financial Field

Edelman Financial Field
Location Ashburn, Virginia
Coordinates 39°3′18.3708″N 77°27′10.6956″W / 39.055103000°N 77.452971000°WCoordinates: 39°3′18.3708″N 77°27′10.6956″W / 39.055103000°N 77.452971000°W
Owner VIP Sports & Entertainment
Operator VIP Baseball
Capacity 4,000
Surface FieldTurf
Construction
Broke ground June 4, 2013
Opened 2015 (planned opening)
Architect Clarke Caton Hintz (CCH)
Tenants
Loudoun Hounds
Virginia Cavalry FC

Edelman Financial Field is a planned 4,000-seat[1] multisport stadium in Ashburn, Virginia, within the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, that will host the Loudoun Hounds[2] of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and Virginia Cavalry FC[3][4] of the North American Soccer League.

Plan

The facility is part of One Loudoun, a new multi-million dollar residential and entertainment development that is designed to be the downtown area of Loudoun County. In addition to the stadium, the project includes a master planned community with townhomes and single family residences, a hotel and conference center, a city plaza, a cinema, retail stores, gourmet grocery, restaurants, office space, recreation and fitness center, youth sports complex, 100 acres (40 ha) of green space and parks, and miles of walkable and bikeable trails.

Uses

Along with the Loudoun Hounds and the Virginia Cavalry, the stadium will serve as a centerpiece for the area as an entertainment venue for concerts and other events.

Naming rights

The stadium is named after Ric Edelman’s Fairfax-based Edelman Financial Services which bought the naming rights to the site and will also hold an office at One Loudoun. The stadium's name was revealed on June 4, 2013, the same day construction of the facility was started.[5]


Background

Kincora Village developers first petitioned Loudoun County officials to build its multi-use complex in December 2008. The pending 337-acre (136.379-hectare) development is near the intersections of Routes 28 and 7, and in close proximity to the Dulles Town Center and the Washington Dulles International Airport. The original "Kincora Ballpark" was approved by Loudoun County's Transportation/Land Use Committee with a 2-1 vote on June 29, 2009.[6]

On October 1, 2012 it was announced that the Loudoun Hounds had signed a new agreement to be located in the "One Loudoun" development in Ashburn, VA and would no longer be located in Kincora.[7] In April 2013, Loudoun County's Board of Supervisors cast a unanimous vote in favor of a rezoning application filed by One Loudoun, allowing the special events venue to be constructed at the site.[8] The facility will be immediately visible from the southwestern corner of the interchange of Virginia Route 7 and the Loudoun County Parkway.

Ground was broken on June 4, 2013.[9] As of November 27, 2013, according to The Washington Post, it appeared that some work had been done on the One Loudoun site, but there was nothing which looked like the beginning of a baseball stadium.[10]

In February 2014, it was reported that the stadium will be constructed in phases in response to a league request to downsize so that expected revenue will support the franchise. At that time the stadium was planned to be ready by late February or early March 2015 with about 4,000 seats.[1] It was reported in April 2014 that the infrastructure work for the stadium was completed "last year" and since then "stadium construction has come to a halt."[11]

A new stadium financing proposal was reported in April 2014 with the team asking the Loudoun County Economic Development Authority to issue up to $55 million in taxable revenue bonds that will not be backed by the county. This will require support from the Board of Supervisors because the Authority can only issue tax-exempt bonds.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hancock, Ben (February 12, 2014). "Farren back as CEO of Hounds". Loudoun Times-Mirror (Leesburg, Virginia). Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ Loudoun Hounds. "Stadium - Edelman Financial Field". Loudoun Hounds.
  3. ↑ NASL. "New Home Of Virginia Cavalry FC To Be Named Edelman Financial Field". NASL.
  4. ↑ Virginia Cavalry FC. "Stadium - Our Home & Pitch". Virginia Cavalry FC.
  5. ↑ Neibauer, Michael (June 4, 2013). "Loudoun Hounds to play ball at Edelman Financial Field". BizBeat.
  6. ↑ "Baseball stadium approved". Loudoun Times-Mirror (Leesburg, Virginia). July 22, 2009.
  7. ↑ Baratko, Trevor; Andrew Sharbel (2 October 2012). "UPDATE: Loudoun Hounds say bye to Kincora, hello to One Loudoun". Loudoun Times-Mirror (Leesburg, Virginia). Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  8. ↑ Baratko, Trevor (April 3, 2013). "Hounds, Virginia Cavalry find a home at One Loudoun". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ Neibauer, Michael (2013-06-04). "Loudoun Hounds to play ball at Edelman Financial Field". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  10. ↑ Jackman, Tom (27 November 2013). "Bob Farren steps down as head of Loudoun Hounds, VIP Entertainment". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Moore, Erika Jacobson (April 2, 2014). "Hounds Chasing New Financing Plan For Loudoun Stadium". Leesburg Today (Leesburg, Virginia).

External links