The owner of the Prince William Cannons minor league baseballteam says he will change his team's name and move it to FairfaxCounty because Prince William officials won't give him the money hewants to help build a $150 million sports and entertainment complexon the Potomac River.
Arthur L. Silber, expressing anger and frustration at thePrince William decision, has talked to Fairfax officials and saidhe's looking for property there along the Interstate 95 corridor onwhich to build an 8,000-seat stadium.
Starting next year, Silber said, the team will be called thePotomac Cannons.'I really don't need the aggravation. I don't need to get intoa battle,' Silber said yesterday, referring to Prince William, whichowns the 2,000-seat stadium his team uses now. 'Fairfax is where thebulk of our fans are. I have changed my focus. Our Prince Williamfans will be happy to drive 20 or 30 minutes to a regionalattraction.'Prince William officials say Silber was demanding $20 millionin public funds for roads and utilities and a $20 million loan to berepaid by stadium revenue -- a price they considered too rich for agrowing jurisdiction already struggling to build roads and schools.Silber says he requested only $20 million from the county.Either way, Supervisor John D. Jenkins (D-Neabsco) said Silberwasn't putting enough of his own money on the table.'We're not saying no to the idea. We're just saying that wecan't afford to do it,' Jenkins said. 'There's some things you haveto make a judgment on. This is not in the best interests of thetaxpayers.' The county told Silber of the decision by letter thisweek.Silber, a former banker who now lives on a small island in theChesapeake Bay along the Maryland coast, said he has spent 'a smallfortune, in the six figures' on the project so far. He blamed PrinceWilliam County Executive Bern Ewert for blowing the deal bymischaracterizing the amount of financial help he requested.'The information filtering down to supervisors was notaccurate,' he said. 'In all honesty, enough is enough. Thecommunity was wonderful to us, but if they don't want us, then that'sfine. The key thing is to get a new stadium.'Silber had proposed building a ballpark flanked by a hotel andhigh-rise office building, a minor league hockey arena, a conferencecenter, a performing arts center and retail shops. He wanted tobuild on the Cherry Hill Peninsula, a piece of largely undevelopedland east of Route 1.Ewert, in a statement relayed by a county spokesman, said he'can think of no reason why Mr. Silber would want to personalize theissue. Mr. Silber submitted a proposal to the county. It wasdiscussed with the Board of County Supervisors. They decided it wasunacceptable.'Silber says he's gotten the message.This week, he talked to Fairfax County Executive Robert J.O'Neill Jr. and Supervisor Gerald W. Hyland (D-Mount Vernon), theofficials said. Silber said he'd decide later whether to build justa ballpark or a larger entertainment complex.Hyland and Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) said theywelcome the opportunity to find a place for minor league baseball inFairfax.'To have a minor league team in Fairfax is a win-win for ourcitizens,' said Hyland, who represents much of the area along I-95.'For me, this is a business opportunity that we should beaggressively trying to make happen.'Frey said he'd 'love to see minor league baseball in Fairfax.. . . You can take your kids, you can afford it without taking asecond mortgage, and it's fun.'O'Neill, however, said the first question to answer is howSilber's proposal would affect Fairfax County's chances of luring aMajor League Baseball team. A group of Northern Virginia investorshas been trying for years to buy an existing team or start one in aleague expansion, and state and local officials have been looking athow and where in Northern Virginia to build a stadium for one.'Would putting a minor league stadium impede the progress thatis being made?' O'Neill asked yesterday. Silber 'would have to havea lot of conversations with board members and staff.'Bill Collins, one of the investors trying to land a majorleague team, said construction of a minor league stadium wouldhinder his efforts.'You don't want the perception out there that you are just aminor league market,' Collins said. 'I think it would do themselvesa disservice. After the year 2000, if Major League Baseball is nothere, absolutely, {a minor league team} may make a lot of sense.'Silber may have a tough time finding a site for his stadiumthat doesn't meet with the same fierce opposition from communitygroups that has greeted proposed locations for a major league park.Silber would not say whether he is looking at any specificlocations, but several county officials said areas considered inrecent years as big league sites might be a logical place to startlooking.They include land near Dulles International Airport; theEngineer Proving Grounds in Springfield, an 800-acre former U.S.Army training facility now considered surplus federal land; or thesite of the Lorton Correctional Complex, which houses more than5,000 District inmates and is scheduled to close in 2001.Lon Caldwell, a member of the West Springfield CivicAssociation, which opposed the construction of a major leaguestadium at the proving ground, said his organization isn't likely tothink much better of a minor league park.'Any development of that kind would be counterproductive to thebad traffic situation that already exists,' Caldwell said.
