Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1995 TAG: 9502010087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
Most speakers at a public hearing Tuesday night supported a proposed 40,000-seat baseball stadium in Fairfax County, but some said it would create a major-league traffic nightmare.
Major-league baseball is expected to add four expansion teams before 2000, and Northern Virginia is in the running for one of them. Two groups of investors have proposed financing deals that require government participation to build the stadium.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is considering two sites near Washington Dulles International Airport, one near the Fair Oaks area of the county, one near Tysons Corner and a fifth near the old Army Engineer Proving Ground off I-95 in Springfield.
``The Dulles Toll Road is the commuter's worst nightmare. I suggest it will be baseball fans' worst nightmare too,'' said Scott Honiberg, who lives in Reston.
Others said they don't want to go to Baltimore to see the Orioles play.
``I've moved down on the waiting list for the O's from 10,000 to 8,900, but I'm tired of driving 40 miles to see baseball,'' said David Albright of Vienna.
One speaker who was undecided was upset with the process. Roger Miller of the Potomac Fairways Homeowners Association said the citizens were not told the selection criteria for the five sites. Also, the economic analyses were not available to citizens and environmental impact statements were not made public.
``The county has a bad case of baseball fever,'' Miller said.
Bob Dix, chairman of the stadium site selection task force, said, ``We wanted to be open. We wanted to be fair. We realized there would be criticism.''
The five sites were narrowed from a list of a dozen the county drew up in pitching Northern Virginia as the location for a new baseball team.
The task force is expected to propose two sites to the Board of Supervisors by mid-February.
A group called Banded Against the Stadium has formed to oppose the Dulles-area sites. Opposition to the other sites has been less vocal.
County officials insist a stadium and a team would be good for the economy of Fairfax and the surrounding region. Loudoun County also is considering sites for a stadium.
A Northern Virginia franchise essentially would be a Washington team, replacing the Senators, who moved to Texas and became the Rangers 20 years ago, supporters say. A baseball team would draw fans from 100 miles south in Virginia, as well as West Virginia and the District of Columbia, supporters say.
Other leading contenders for an expansion team, including Phoenix, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., and Orlando, Fla., already have stadiums or stadium sites.
by CNB