FREDERICKSBURG — They’re clearly excited in Fredericksburg.
City officials on Tuesday posted to their Facebook page announcing the city was in the works to sign a letter of intent with the Potomac Nationals. That agreement would move the team from their home in Woodbridge, where they’ve been since 1984.
The partnership was announced at a Fredericksburg City Council meeting. The team could relocate to a new stadium to be built somewhere on a tract of undeveloped land called Celebrate Virginia South, near the city’s convention center and Mark’s and Harrison Amphitheater.
According to fredericksburgbaseball.com, if the team reaches an agreement with the city it would remain in Fredericksburg for 30 years. The deal would include a new 5,000-seat stadium for the team similar to what the team had envisioned to be built at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge.
Potomac Nationals Team Owner Art Silber could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
News of the potential move comes about a year after Prince William County officials failed to come to an agreement with Silber on a financing package for his new stadium in Woodbridge. It would have been located behind Wegmans at the town center, and, for the team, it would be a replacement for Richard G. Pfitzner Stadium, where the P-Nats have called home since moving to Woodbridge from Alexandria in 1984.
The team has talked about the need for a new stadium for about 20 years.
The Fredericksburg City Council is expected to review and vote on the letter of intent at its July 10 meeting, according to the city’s Facebook page.
This is not the first time Fredericksburg has tired to lure a team to the city. In 2013, officials were in negotiations with the Hagerstown Suns, of Maryland. But negotiations fell through when costs for a new 5,000-seat stadium grew beyond the initial $30 million price point, something similar to what happened during the P-Nats negotiations with Prince William leaders.
The Fredericksburg City Treasurer is set to begin selling parcels on the land on which the new P-Nats stadium would be built. The owners of undeveloped property owe more than two years of back tax payments.
