VA Baseball Authorities Plan $300M Stadium

RESTON, VA-The Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority is moving forward with plans to develop a stadium in northern Virginia in anticipation of a decision by Major League Baseball to relocate a franchise to the area. VBSA is putting out a call for design proposals, and anticipates that the cost of constructing a stadium will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 million.

VBSA is currently drawing up the RFP for the architectural and design services, and hopes to have it available within a week or two. Architectural design firms will have about three weeks to reply, and the stadium authority plans to award the contract sometime around June 1. “We are operating under the assumption that we are going to get a team,” VBSA communications director Brian Hannigan tells GlobeSt.com. “We need to be ready, but we don’t anticipate any announcements before the end of the season; possibly by September or October, or even later.” And the VBSA is indeed ready. State officials have already approved the means for funding a stadium. “The financing plan has been endorsed by the General Assembly and would call for public-private ownership,” Hannigan explains. “The team owners would contribute about one-third of the cost.” The $300 million quote is based upon a “ballpark” figure used in the mid-90s by a subcommittee of the state General Assembly.