Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 28, 1993 TAG: 9311280051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Prince William draws about 14 million tourists annually, 12 million of them to Potomac Mills Mall, an outlet mecca on the eastern side of the county.
In the western half of the county, subdivisions are creeping within sight of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but jobs and large-scale commercial development haven't been quick to follow.
The area got national attention in 1988, when a developer began work on an enormous shopping center adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park. The project eventually was stopped by Congress, and the fight is credited with starting a national effort to preserve Civil War battlefields.
In addition to the failed battlefield development plan, the past decade saw Marriott Corp. announce, then scrap, plans for its own theme park nearby. And the Central Intelligence Agency abandoned plans for a huge new office center.
The sudden Disney announcement is a sharp departure from the two years of tortuous negotiations to lure another theme park - this one a $100 million development by Lego Inc.
The Danish toy maker heard appeals from more than 100 communities across the country for its first U.S. theme park and narrowed the choice to sites in Virginia and California this year.
When Lego chose Carlsbad, Calif., last week, Gov. Douglas Wilder said the company didn't want to compete with Disney 25 miles away.
Both Lego and Disney said the other's plans did not influence their decisions.
by CNB