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NEW EFFORT UNDERWAY TO BRING MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO AREA

A new group has formed, hoping to succeed with the Loudoun Hounds effort faltered — and bring a minor league team to the area.

Several years after the much-heralded Loudoun Hounds baseball team and stadium failed to materialize, today comes word that a new group of investors is trying again — hoping to bring a minor league baseball team to Loudoun (possibly Ashburn) by the 2018 season.

The Washington Business Journal first reported the story Friday afternoon. The bulk of the report is only available to subscribers, but here are a few of the highlights:

  • Safe at Home LLC was launched last spring and is working to raise tens of millions of dollars to build a stadium.
  • One Loudoun and the upcoming Kincora development (near the intersection of Route 7 and State Road 28) are both possible locations
  • Well-known financial advisor, author and radio host Ric Edelman, who was behind the Loudoun Hounds effort, is also behind this latest venture.
  • Safe at Home has a provisional agreement with the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
  • With an estimated 70 home games, the stadium owners will need to figure out how to generate revenue on many other days. This will be critical to finding investors to support the effort.
  • At a fundraising meeting in December, more than 80 people turned out.
  • An advisory board to help find ways to maximize revenue at the stadium includes such well-known names as former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, sportscaster Johnny Holliday, and professional basketball player and coach Gene Banks.

You’re probably going to hear a lot about this in the coming months. So stay tuned!

(Image above from the Loudoun Hounds is an early rendering of their proposed baseball stadium.)

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