The Potomac Nationals will extend their lease at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium for 2020.
The move comes after the team said it played its final home game in Woodbridge on Thursday, August 29.
For Team owner Art Silber, the move is insurance policy in the event the team’s new stadium at Celebrate Virginia South in Fredericksburg is not fully built and ready to go by opening day April 23, 2020.
“We’re 100% confident that we are going to be able to play a ballgame on that date,” Silber told Potomac Local.
All of the amenities fans have come to expect — a video scoreboard, food and concessions, restrooms, and the stadium’s 6,000 seats — should all be installed by that time. Box seats, locker rooms, and the team’s front offices may not be ready by then, said Silber.
If that’s the case, Silber said he’ll have players change and prepare for games at the adjacent Fredericksburg Convention Center or a nearby hotel. Silber said site work at the new stadium is complete, and concrete work should be done by December 1.
Prince William County Parks and Recreation (which owns Pfitzner Stadium) Director Seth Handler-Voss acknowledged the extension request. The extension is one of two extensions of the stadium lease agreement the team has exercised in its current contract with Prince William County.
The team in 2017 failed to reach an agreement with the Prince William County Board of Supervisors for a new stadium. It broke ground on its new stadium in February.
