N.Va. Ballpark Backers Don't Own Most of Site

Spring saw a burst of offers on many of the small parcels in the area, with dueling bids pushing prices higher. Some property owners said they took lower bids from the Diamond Lake group because they trusted the financial heft behind the project's backers. Others were convinced by the group's assurances about the future.

"The buyer says they are pushing the whole corridor, regardless of whether baseball comes through or not," said Les Horowitz, a Reston computer programmer who reached an agreement to sell about four acres to Diamond Lake.

Asked whether he'd build Diamond Lake without the diamond, Bensignor demurred. "First things first," he said, adding that all his energy is spent trying to persuade Major League Baseball to move to Dulles. But it's a good idea either way, he said.

"Adding baseball creates a whole new dimension, but the concept of a town center is the right one anyhow," Bensignor said.

For Kawar, selling his prime corner property for a baseball development might be the way to close out an investment he made in America in 1979 on the advice of a real estate agent.

Or it might not.

Back then, developers passed on the land because they weren't sure about road connections. "I bought it and said, 'I'll leave it as security for my children,' " Kawar said.

He donated land to build Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology as part of a deal to ease his future building plans and spent years amassing the zoning permission and other preparations needed for a large commercial project.

Now, as push seems to be coming to shove, Kawar, who is chairman of the board of Middle East Insurance Co., said he'll be careful. He wants to be sure local and state officials are on board with the baseball development.

"There are a lot of people who are trying to fish and trying to make a buck like this. They like to be smart. They think they can make quick money on that. . . . I only talk, myself, to serious people," he said.

"Everything's up in the air, like hearsay," Kawar added. "I will get into the end result, that's all. . . . Then I don't mind. Then we will work out something."

Staff writers Thomas Heath, Lori Montgomery and Michael D. Shear contributed to this report.