Developers Craft Plan For Baseball In Loudoun

"The plan envisions a $442 million project, reduced to $360 million due to shared infrastructure costs," according to the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, which would be responsible for having the stadium built.

"It is not a 'dumbed-down' ballpark. Rather, befitting a ballpark in a major market, it includes 42,500 seats, 100 suites and 5,000 club seats," the authority said.

Team owners would not contribute any money up front for construction; they would pay one-third of the final price tag in rent payments.

Another benefit for Major League Baseball, according to the proposal, is that the future team could be given millions in tax revenue collected under the auspices of the Stadium Authority.

The legislation creating the Stadium Authority allows it to collect sales tax on such things as hot dogs and team caps and on the incomes of players and others who work at the stadium. Those funds would be used to repay debt taken out to build the stadium.

And depending on the franchise's performance, team owners could also pocket hefty tax revenue left after the Stadium Authority covers its debt obligations, according to the financing plan offered to Major League Baseball.

"This means that rather than using all excess funds . . . to pay off bonds early, we will use 40 percent to benefit the team's owner," Gabe Paul Jr., the Stadium Authority's executive director, wrote in a letter last month to Major League Baseball officials.

Paul, who has been circumspect about the Stadium Authority's efforts in public statements, offered a detailed pitch for the Dulles stadium in the letter, which includes information about business arrangements and subtle jabs at Northern Virginia's competitors.

Paul asserted that the project's developers have made progress on the sensitive -- and potentially costly -- issue of site acquisition.

"Let me tell you in confidence that most of the land parcels comprising this stunning 450-acre site are now under the control of the development group, including the property where the ballpark will sit," Paul wrote.

A member of the development group would not discuss which landowners are -- or are not -- on board with the project. Representatives of two of the key parcels, including the centerpiece quarry touted as a future lake, did not return calls seeking comment.

Paul, a former Milwaukee Brewers vice president, also cited the prospect of involvement by hotel giant Marriott to buttress the Dulles bid's credentials. James M. Erlacher, a Marriott senior vice president, called the project "enticing" in a letter to the development group last month.

Paul also appealed to Major League Baseball officials to "separate fact from fiction and myth from reality" in combing through proposals. "While other jurisdictions may have plans to enact financing legislation, Virginia has had all the legislation we need in place since 1997," he wrote.

D.C. officials have said they are considering imposing up to $20 million a year in new taxes on businesses as part of a plan for a publicly funded ballpark in the city.