Virginia Makes Its Case For Baseball

Needing to bolster its case in order to attract a baseball team to the area, the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority (VBSA) released an updated study revising upward the estimate of the potential economic impact of a baseball team moving to Northern Virginia.

The revised figures updated a study the VBSA originally released in 2000 by George Mason University economist Stephen Fuller. As Eric Fisher of the Washington Times noted, the study comes just a week before a number of jurisdictions, including Virginia and the District, are scheduled to meet with Major League Baseball to outline their plans for financing a stadium for the Expos.

But when it comes to coverage in the area's biggest paper, the VBSA struck out. One day after detailing how an urban location for a ballpark would create far more economic spillover than a stadium in the suburbs, the Washington Post chose to completely ignore the VBSA study (perhaps due to the embargo the VBSA placed on the study's findings until 6:00 p.m. last night).

As you might have guessed, the study predicts that the stadium will generate far more in spending and tax revenue than the state will spend floating construction bonds to build it and the supporting infrastructure. To read the report, click here. For another document just highlighting some of the potential financial impacts, click here. And finally, for the press release, click here.

As I've said before, I can't imagine the state of Virginia being able to commit substantial resources to building a stadium in the current economic climate. The best bet remains seeing the team move to the District -- which makes the presentation to MLB next week by District officials all the more critical.

Eric 11:09 AM

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