(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) It has not been a great week for plans to bring professional sports teams to Northern Virginia.

Just a day after negotiations for a Washington Wizards and Capitals arena in Alexandria officially fell through, George Mason University has announced that it’s no longer planning to build a joint baseball and cricket stadium in Fairfax for the Washington Freedom.

“After hard work and due diligence from the team at Mason, we have concluded that this opportunity does not meet the strategic objectives and interests of our campus and community and the Washington Freedom,” GMU President Gregory Washington said in a statement. “We appreciate the continued feedback and dialogue with leaders across the Commonwealth and with the local community.”

The decision to part ways was mutual, according to a statement from the Washington Freedom, which indicated that it’s still looking to build a stadium somewhere in the D.C. area.

“While we have decided to go in a different direction, we are appreciative of the dialogue and partnership with GMU,” the team said. “We remain committed to working with the broader DMV community to grow the sport of Cricket in the region and to build a multipurpose stadium that will be the future home of the Washington Freedom.”

The university first announced in 2022 that it was partnering with Major League Cricket and Washington Freedom owner Sanjay Govil to study the feasibility of a multi-purpose facility at its West Campus that could host professional cricket matches and college baseball games.

GMU’s governor-appointed Board of Visitors gave university administrators the green light in January to start negotiating a ground lease for the prospective stadium site, which encompass 15 acres between Braddock Road and Campus Drive.

Though the project was still in the planning phase, Mason staff and Govil said at a virtual town hall on Jan. 29 that they hoped to finish construction on a temporary facility that could seat 7,000 to 10,000 spectators by 2025.

As the proposal gained more attention, residents of the area around GMU’s campus began to organize opposition, raising concerns about the potential traffic and environmental impacts, noise and light pollution, and a process they perceived as lacking in transparency.

In a Feb. 7 letter to elected officials, the GMU Board of Visitors and the GMU president’s council, a group of neighborhood associations working together as the GMU Braddock Road Adjacent Community Coalition called for a halt in the stadium project “until a thorough and proper evaluation can be accomplished with all affected parties in attendance.”

“While we recognize change is necessary it also needs to be targeted and sized appropriately to address known university problems with consideration of adjacent neighborhood concerns paramount,” the coalition wrote. “The creation of a commercial zone that benefits some and punishes others on state supported property is an egregious abuse of positional power.” Read More

The Fairfax County Park Authority is still scouting for its next sports tourism project.

After opening Patriot Park North, a $28 million baseball and softball facility, near George Mason University last spring, the park authority put out a call in June for potential private partners on a new, multi-sport tournament complex that it hopes could benefit both residents and visitors.

However, the park authority announced on Feb. 15 that the four development pitches it received were all ruled out for further exploration at this time due to a lack of funding or the proposed site being deemed unsuitable.

“[The] Fairfax County Park Authority Board and stakeholders reviewed the submissions and found them not viable,” an FCPA spokesperson said. “…The [entities] submitting the proposal[s] did not have the funding for the project or the locations proposed were in established parks and would impact existing park amenities including golf courses, existing fields, garden plots or areas with historical significance.”

The submitted proposals haven’t been made public, but in its request for interest (RFI) issued in June, the county suggested Mountain Road and Halifax parks in Centreville, Rock Hill Park in Chantilly, and Patriot Park East near George Mason’s Fairfax campus as possible sites.

Those four sites are all undeveloped parcels owned by the park authority, which has identified them in approved master plans as potential future athletic fields. The RFI also gave respondents the option of identifying other locations that could host a multi-sport tournament complex.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a Sports Tourism Task Force in 2017 that was charged with studying how the county could “take advantage of this market in order to diversify its tax base” and how any resulting revenue could be used to support resident-focused facilities.

In a report released on Aug. 31, 2020, the task force cited outdoor field complexes as the county’s biggest need and the facility with the greatest economic potential. Other recommended priorities included an indoor hardcourt, an indoor track facility, an ice complex and a natatorium with a pool for swimming and diving competitions.

The study, which was conducted by a consulting firm and supported by the FCPA, identified 17 sites that could host at least one of the recommended facilities, though the vetting process drew criticism from some county supervisors for not considering equity or environmental impacts.

The task force estimated that an outdoor rectangular field complex at Mountain Road could generate over $61.7 million of economic output, including nearly $4.5 million in county tax revenue. An indoor court and track complex at Baron Cameron Park in Reston could bring in $72.6 million, though it would have higher construction costs.

Designed, built and operated by the park authority, Patriot Park North became the county’s first official sports tourism project, featuring four full-size baseball diamonds and two smaller diamonds.

Though none of the submissions for a follow-up gained traction so far, the park authority says it’s still open to new ideas. Unsolicited proposals can be submitted to the county through its Public-Private Educational Facilities and Infrastructures Act (PPEA) process.

“With Requests for Interest, if or when a project becomes viable, additional input will be sought through the Park Authority’s outreach processes,” the FCPA said.

Screenshot via Fairfax County Park Authority/YouTube

George Mason University is poised to complete the construction of a functional cricket field at its Fairfax campus by the end of this summer and a new ballpark by 2025.

During a virtual town hall meeting on Monday (Jan. 29), GMU staff and Sanjay Govil, owner of the Washington Freedom cricket team and a founding investor in Major League Cricket (MLC), outlined the project and listened to feedback from local stakeholders.

The project is still in the planning phase, but GMU’s governor-appointed Board of Visitors gave the university the green light last month to start talks with Washington Freedom about a ground lease for a multi-purpose ballpark.

“I think it’s a great win-win situation in terms of giving us what cricket has to offer and giving GMU what it needs for a state-of-the-art baseball facility,” Govil said during the town hall.

As part of a multi-year plan to redevelop and enhance its three main campuses in Fairfax, Manassas and Arlington, GMU proposed consolidating the athletic facilities on its 190-acre Fairfax West Campus, which is northwest of the Ox Road and Braddock Road intersection and currently houses the GMU Field House, several fields and courts.

In November 2022, Mason announced it would collaborate with MLC to study the possibility of a multi-purpose facility that could host international-level cricket games and the university’s baseball team.

Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president and athletics director at GMU, said the athletic facilities on the west campus are outdated and lack essential stadium features like a video board and lights that he noted are common at peer institutions.

“They have video boards, they have lights, and so it makes it even harder to recruit and compete at a high level without those amenities at our ballpark,” Lewis said.

Because GMU is a relatively young institution, the athletics department doesn’t have the “donor capacity” to raise the funds needed to upgrade its facilities, including the new multi-purpose stadium, he added.

“So, to make improvements, we have to think creatively and utilize partners in the community to help us meet our strategic objectives,” Lewis said.

As part of its agreement with GMU, Govil said Washington Freedom would fully fund the new stadium’s construction.

According to a presentation shared by the university, the proposed stadium will accommodate 7,000 to 10,000 spectators on a 15-acre site between Braddock Road and Campus Drive, adjacent to the parking lot.

The possibility of thousands of new spectators traveling to watch cricket matches and baseball games alarmed many town hall attendees, who expressed concerns about traffic and questioned the university’s approach. Read More

Some facility upgrades are in the works for three Fairfax County parks.

The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) Board approved a total of $55,325 in Mastenbrook grants on Wednesday (Dec. 13) to help fund improvements at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, McLean Central Park and Frying Pan Farm Park south of Herndon.

Lake Fairfax Park (1400 Lake Fairfax Drive)

The Cricket Association of Fairfax County (CAFC) was awarded $15,325 to replace Lake Fairfax’s cricket pitch, which was developed in 1997 and is “one of the few in the Northern Virginia region large enough to meet the international standards of cricket,” according to the FCPA.

In its proposal to the park authority, the association reported that it has replaced the field’s artificial turf three times in the past 20 years, but inadequate drainage has damaged the wicket — a concrete base covered by artificial turf used to bounce the ball — and results in frequent waterlogging.

“Recent discussions with the park management have resulted in the determination that the wicket cannot be repaired,” the CAFC said. “A new wicket needs to be constructed with elevation and drainage to prevent water build up.”

The project to replace the pitch’s base and turf carries a total estimated cost of $30,650, half of which will be covered by the cricket association.

McLean Central Park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd)

The 28-acre park near the McLean Community Center is getting a renovated basketball court, thanks to a friends group formed this year to honor Thomas A. Mulquin, a McLean resident who was “an avid supporter of basketball,” according to an FCPA staff summary for the board.

“The basketball court is currently in disrepair and therefore seldom used,” the Friends of Thomas A. Mulquin wrote in its grant application. “A tree root protrudes through the surface at one end of the court and a thicket downhill at the other end makes retrieving balls difficult and unsafe.”

Supported by $45,176 in community contributions, on top of $20,000 from the park authority, the $65,176 renovation will refurbish the court surface, update the color coating and line painting, replace both hoops and add a 10-foot-tall chain link fence “to prevent basketballs from going into the heavy overgrowth near the court,” according to the FCPA press release.

Frying Pan Farm Park (2709 West Ox Road)

Spirit Open Equestrian also requested and received a $20,000 grant — the maximum allowed for a single project by the Mastenbrook Grant Program, which provides matching funds for park improvements undertaken by local residents or community groups.

The nonprofit wants to bring electricity to the equestrian facilities where it provides therapeutic horseback-riding programs. The four horse barns and three sheds with supply and office space currently rely on solar panels, which are limited in capacity and unreliable, depending on the season, per the grant application.

“The project plan proposes to have Dominion Energy extend power from an existing cell tower, and then to contract with a vendor to outfit the buildings with wiring, conduit, outlets and related electrical components,” FCPA staff said.

With the project estimated to cost $72,458, the park authority grant will be supplemented by $52,458 from SOE.

All three projects are on track to be completed by spring 2024, according to the park authority.

These will be the last improvements supported by Mastenbrook grants for the time being. The FCPA has suspended applications to the 25-year-old program as it conducts a review, prompted by concerns about a gap in the quality of park facilities based on the ability of different neighborhoods to fundraise.

“The goal of the review is to examine the process through an equity lens and determine how to improve accessibility and benefit of the program in all areas of the county — particularly in communities of opportunity,” the park authority said.

FCPA staff are expected to deliver recommendations for the program’s future to the board in early 2024.

Reston’s Hunters Woods ballfield has finished its transformation from an underutilized baseball diamond into a park with walking paths, new trees and other features is now complete.

Construction on the redevelopment started on Aug. 11 and wrapped up last week, coming in not only four months ahead of schedule, but also about 10% under approximately $400,000 budget, according to Reston Association, which owns the park.

Chris Schumaker, RA’s director of capital projects, attributes the speedy timeline and cost efficiency to “good weather” and an absence of unexpected site issues that could’ve caused delays.

“This redevelopment project gives new life to valuable greenspace in Reston,” Schumaker said. “We’re thrilled to be able to work directly with the community to create a space that is beneficial to the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s really a win-win effort.”

RA approved a concept plan to repurpose the ballfield in 2020 at the request of the Hunters Woods Neighborhood Coalition. Though once used by Reston-Herndon Little League, the facility’s lack of parking and locked-in location near Breton Court behind the Hunters Woods Village Center made it difficult to access and inhospitable to larger gatherings, like a ball game.

While the new park still doesn’t have parking, it was designed to serve pedestrians and the immediate neighborhood instead of drivers, with footpaths and seating areas that encourage walking and other forms of passive recreation.

“We want people to travel there on foot, so that’s definitely doable with the walkways we added and the connection points to other pathways in the area for sure,” Schumaker told FFXnow.

The roughly 1-acre site is now encircled by a broad asphalt walkway, and a concrete path divides a new rain garden and a meadow reseeded with native plants, though they mostly won’t emerge until the spring. To emphasize the nature-focused setting, the concrete has been stamped with leaves from native trees.

Other amenities include benches, trash receptacles and a Little Free Library Nearby residents started to stock the green box with books as soon as fences around the site came down, according to Schumaker.

In addition to hopefully encouraging more usage, the new park designed by the architecture and landscaping firm Kimley Horn brings environmental and stormwater benefits, RA says.

The rain garden will control and filter runoff from the park and adjacent houses that previously just flowed into streams, Schumaker said. The project also led to 12 new trees getting planted on the site and preserved several existing, mature trees.

“It’s kind of just a nice place to look at right now,” Schumaker said. “I think once the meadow area…kind of grows in through the winter and early spring, it’ll really kind of add a big pop of color and a nice place to walk around and kind of see all the birds and the insects and things of that nature that will traverse the area now versus before.”

After the meadow grows out next spring, RA plans to host a formal ceremony celebrating the new Hunters Woods park.

A nearly 10-acre site just outside Herndon that is currently used as a cricket field is on the path towards redevelopment.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Oct. 24 to transfer county-owned land at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority for an affordable housing project.

No specific development proposal has come to light yet, but the project is intended to boost the county’s stock of affordable housing in a transit-oriented area near the Innovation Center Metro station.

The project would feature a 10-foot-wide shared-use trail connecting the station to residential neighborhoods to the east.

Mike Lambert, manager of the county’s real estate services division, noted that the Fairfax County Park Authority and county staff are working to identify an alternate location for the cricket field.

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said he was happy staff and the FCPA were looking into other options. The Capital Cricket Premier League will continue to use the field until construction begins — which could be as early as spring 2027.

Foust said that gives the county plenty of time to identify more options for cricket players.

“This is a pretty exciting opportunity to advance affordable housing goals,” Foust said, adding that the project will be a “win-win” once the alternate cricket field is selected.

The vote simply turns the land over to FCHRA. Additional public hearings will be scheduled once a development plan is proposed.

The community will soon get a chance to comment on whether a temporary cricket field near the Innovation Center Metro station should be opened up to affordable housing proposals, even as the search for a replacement athletic facility continues.

The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 yesterday (Tuesday) to schedule a public hearing on the proposed transfer of county-owned land at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive for Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m.

While no specific development proposals have been made public yet, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority sees the approximately 9.6-acre site as an opportunity to add affordable housing in a growing area close to transit, according to county staff.

The future project would also feature a 10-foot-wide, shared-use trail connecting the Metro station to residential neighborhoods to the east.

“There is a critical need in the Dulles Corridor for the creation of housing opportunities for low- to moderate-income households,” staff said in a memo to the board. “The FCRHA is evaluating measures to leverage this underutilized property for development of affordable multifamily rental housing by partnering with a private developer.”

The property is located in walking distance of the Metro station’s north entrance, and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation plans to add a 10-foot-wide, shared-use asphalt path along its perimeter to connect the neighborhoods to the east to the station.

The site is currently undeveloped except for the Dulles Greene Cricket Ground, a regulation-sized cricket field operated by Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services and maintained by the Capital Cricket Premier League.

County staff are “actively engaged” with the Fairfax County Park Authority to find an alternative site that cricket players can use if the field is redeveloped, but no locations have been identified yet, they told Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who voted against scheduling the public hearing.

The search for a permanent cricket facility in the area is “in a holding pattern” while the park authority solicits proposals for a multi-sports complex, according to Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, who represents the Herndon area.

“Once the responses come in, assuming that we don’t give all that land away, there will be an opportunity to hopefully move the cricket field to these other locations,” Foust said.

Sites suggested in the request for proposals include Mountain Road and Halifax parks in Centreville, Rock Hill Park in Chantilly, and Patriot Park East near George Mason University’s campus. Patriot Park North — a $28 million baseball and softball complex that opened in April — represented the county’s first project under a sports tourism initiative championed by Herrity.

GMU may add a cricket facility of its own. The university has partnered with Major League Cricket to study the possibility of a joint cricket-and-baseball facility, though county leaders expressed concern earlier this year about potential traffic and community impacts.

Before Tuesday’s vote, Foust noted that the Dulles Greene field was always intended to be temporary.

“We spent $6 billion on Dulles rail,” Foust said, referring to the Metro Silver Line extension that opened last November. “This is almost immediately adjacent to the station, perfect opportunity for an affordable housing development.”

An affordable housing community could take over a nearly temporary athletic field on Dulles Green Drive.

At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on July 25, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust asked the county to begin the initial steps to transfer the board-owned site at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCHRA) to develop an affordable housing project.

Foust said that inclusionary affordable housing near Herndon’s “amenity-rich area” supports the county’s equity goals.

“The property presents an opportunity for the creation of an affordable housing community as a Transit Oriented Development within 1/3 mile of the Silver Line’s Innovation Metro Station and nearby recreational and commercial amenities,” Foust said.

The site is currently serving as a cricket field and will remain an athletic field until development begins. If FCHRA opts not seek to pursue the project, the property would be conveyed back to the board.

The project would support the county’s goal of providing a minimum of 10,000 new affordable housing units by 2034, Foust said.

Image via Google Maps

Linway Terrace Park in McLean inched closer last week to getting a new, turf baseball diamond.

At its meeting on June 28, the Fairfax County Park Authority board approved a $20,000 grant to the McLean Little League (MLL), which has proposed replacing the existing grass field at 6246 Linway Terrace with a synthetic turf field.

Synthetic turf will “provide an even and consistent playing surface that is more forgiving of wet conditions,” the park authority said.

MLL has committed to funding the remainder of the conversion, which will cost an estimated $1.2 million to $1.3 million. The grant, along with an initial $230,000 contribution from the little league, will cover the cost of design and permitting, according to the FCPA.

“We are currently working with the community to raise the funds required for this project,” MLL board member Bryan Orme said.

Though some community members have expressed concern about potential health risks posed by synthetic turf, Linway Terrace Park’s soccer and lacrosse fields have already been converted.

The park authority estimates that the baseball field conversion could start in the spring of 2025 and be completed that fall.

The park authority board also approved a Mastenbrook Volunteer Matching Fund Grant last week for new fencing at Frying Pan Farm Park in the Herndon area, according to a June 29 news release:

The Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park has proposed replacing sections of degraded fencing with 2,666 linear feet of new oak board fencing around several of the farm’s pastures. The Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park will be contributing matching funds in the amount of $19,995 to complete the funding needed for the project. Project completion is anticipated for early 2024.

The grant program helps fill gaps in funding for facility improvements at county parks undertaken by nonprofits, community groups and other volunteers. Grants can go up to $20,000, but they can’t exceed more than half of the project’s overall cost.

Since establishing the program in 1999, the FCPA has awarded approximately $2.08 million for a variety of projects, including trail and athletic field improvements.

A $28 million baseball and softball complex in Fairfax officially opened this past weekend, marking the county’s first foray into sports tourism.

The ribbon-cutting for Patriot Park North was held Saturday morning (April 15) with local officials, a Washington Nationals representative, and Little Leaguers all in attendance.

The new facility features four turf, 90-foot, full-size baseball diamonds, two 60-foot smaller diamonds, an elevated press and scouting box, concession stands, warm-up areas, streaming capabilities, and a baseball-themed playground.

The facility was designed, constructed, and is now run by the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA).

“This is a state-of-the-art facility for youth and adult sports,” Fairfax County Board Chairman Jeff McKay said in a county-produced video. “It is really rare, one-of-a-kind, to have a turf baseball field and to have this many baseball and softball fields in one location. It will not only help this community but it helps with tournaments and other big events.”

A collaboration with the Southwestern Youth Association, Patriot Park North is the first project to come out of a push by the Sports Tourism Task Force and a number of county agencies to build sports facilities that not only benefit residents, but also bring in tourism revenue by hosting tournaments and events.

Patriot Park North has 26 committed events between April and November, per the office of Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who chairs the Sports Tourism Task Force.

Each event is “anticipated to net between $162,000 to more than $1 million” with a projected economic impact of more than $11 million, according to a press release from Herrity’s office.

“The opening of this facility is a milestone not just for the Springfield District, but for the county,” Herrity said. “It is one example of the many ways we can partner with great community organizations like SYA, in order to provide top-of-the-line sports facilities for residents and at the same time diversify our revenue and reduce the burden on taxpayers with sports tourism revenues. This is the first of what I hope will be many state-of-the-art athletic facilities we will be opening for our residents.”

It also may be the only completed sports facility of this nature for a while. Back in October, the county delayed plans to seek proposals for new facilities after the Board of Supervisors raised concerns that the task force’s site recommendations didn’t take equity into consideration. Read More