Minor league baseball hopes return to Loudoun County – Loudoun Times-Mirror

Fresh attempts to bring minor league baseball to Loudoun appear to be gathering momentum. A new group, which includes former Redskins quarterback Joe Theisman is lending its support to the plans, which could finally see a stadium built in the county after a catalog of failures.

Speaking to the Times-Mirror, Ric Edelman, the prominent CEO of Edelman Financial Services, said he’s one of several people involved.

“There are a lot of business plans being developed, negotiations are underway and fundraising is under way,” Edelman said. “It is all relatively early, I’m hopeful in the next few months to have made some progress. I believe the business plan is sound … various parties needed to make it happen, are favorably inclined to proceeding.”

Edelman said he’s convinced that Loudoun County needs a cultural center that offers family-friendly events that are affordable and accessible to the entire community. He didn’t elaborate on where the stadium would be built, adding it was too early to go into details.

The revived talk was first reported by the Washington Business Journal.

Previous pitches for a local minor league baseball team – the much-hyped Loudoun Hounds franchise that never materialized – included two stadium plans, first at the Kincora development, then at One Loudoun.

Also throwing their weight behind the latest effort is former NFL Quarterback Joe Theisman, who explained the reasons for his involvement.

“I’ve been a baseball fan all my life, I was drafted to play professional baseball at college,” Theisman said in an interview. “There’s been a lot of conversation about hopefully bringing baseball to Loudoun County … My role hasn’t been defined other than been an enthusiast about having it be brought here.”

He continued,“Any way we can grow Loudoun County to create more activities for families in the Loudoun County area … it would be a terrific thing, the affordability for families to be able to go and appreciate baseball.”

John Horshok, who has a background in baseball management and was involved in the original plans as chairman of the Kincora Baseball Advisory Board, told the Times-Miror he is also backing this latest venture.

Dennis Crawford of Safe at Home LLC is another involved partner working to raise money.

Efforts to bring minor league baseball to the county have been beset with problems.

The Hounds franchise was originally scheduled to open back in 2012 at the Kincora development east of One Loudoun. VIP Sports and Entertainment, who had deals in place to make the Loudoun Hounds a reality, then moved the development site to One Loudoun. The ballpark was to be constructed there in time for the 2014 season, but that never happened.

Edelman previously secured naming rights to the stadium that was intended to house the Hounds.

Thus ensued a long-running battle between developers of the One Loudoun complex and VIP Sports and Entertainment, with a lawsuit from One Loudoun, and then a counter suit from VIP. One Loudoun said VIP officials didn’t meet their contractual obligations related to the stadium while VIP claimed One Loudoun officials caused the delay.

The lawsuit was dismissed Feb. 23 2016 in Loudoun County Circuit Court. An agreement between the two entities was reached that terminated VIP’s lease for the land planned for the stadium at the intersection of Route 7 and Loudoun County Parkway.