Sports

Stadium Dogs Hounds Again, But VIP Still Shooting for 2014

With construction of a ballpark at One Loudoun yet to begin, completion not expected until at least third quarter 2014.

The dirt keeps turning around One Loudoun, but not yet for the anticipated Loudoun Hounds/Virginia Cavalry FC stadium. Infrastructure work is underway around the proposed stadium site, but several residents have begun asking when work on the ballpark will begin.

“We have seen tremendous progress on a number of fronts,” said Bob Farren, CEO of VIP Sports & Entertainment, the group building the stadium and assembling the teams. “However, I regret having to announce that stadium construction will not be completed until third quarter 2014.”

Work should begin before the end of the year, according to a statement provided by VIP Tuesday. The Hounds are a planned professional baseball club and the Cavalry FC are set to be part of the North American Soccer League.

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First planning the stadium at Kincora, a little farther east near routes 7 and 28, VIP initially pointed to 2012 as a potential start date for the Hounds. After pushing that back to 2013, the team announced delays at Kincora would not enable the team to start in 2014, so the Loudoun Board of Supervisors expedited land use reviews to permit VIP to build the stadium at One Loudoun at the corner of Route 7 and Loudoun County Parkway.

Now it appears that if VIP-operated teams do take the field in 2014 it won’t happen at the planned Edelman Financial Field, at least until the end of their respective seasons.

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“We plan on opening the stadium in time for a portion of the 2014 season,” Farren said in the statement from the team. “We are working on a number of contingency plans for the Hounds and Cavalry FC to play in the interim.”

According to the statement, VIP anticipates delivery of “the precast concrete seating bowl soon, with installation in the fourth quarter of 2013” and after that, delivery of the steel for the stadium.

Critics have continued to question whether the teams will even begin playing in Loudoun. The professional leagues the teams would join anticipated 2014 starts.

Other stories about the stadium:


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