FredNats Offer Tour Of New Stadium As Crisis Delays Opening Day

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The new baseball stadium in Fredericksburg is ready to host Fredericksburg National games, although there is some construction work still underway in the stadium area. Unfortunately, opening day for the 2020 baseball season, from the major leagues down to the Class-Advanced Carolina League, has been delayed due to the coronavirus crisis.

If professional baseball is played in Fredericksburg in 2020, players will enjoy a top-notch field, dugout, bullpen and other amenities. Baseball fans, if they are allowed to attend games in 2020, will get to enjoy comfortable seats close to the field or purchase tickets for seats in the club area.

"People will be blown away by the facility and the site when they get out here," Seth Silber, one of the owners of the FredNats, told Bill Freehling, director of Economic Development and Tourism for the city of Fredericksburg, as he took him on a tour of the facility.

"There's not a bad seat in the entire house," Silber said. "The seats are incredibly close to the field."

Fredericksburg's city council voted to approve a deal in November 2018 to bring the Potomac Nationals Class A baseball franchise in Woodbridge to the city in time for the 2020 season. The new 5,000-seat stadium is located near Interstate 95. The team broke ground on the new stadium in February 2019.

The FredNats were scheduled to open their new stadium on April 23 against the Frederick Keys, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. But the season has been put on hold because of the coronavirus crisis.

When baseball does finally begin at the FredNats stadium, fans will get to watch pitchers warm up in both the home and visiting teams' bullpens. The stadium has group areas where fans can sit and "heckle the visiting pitchers," Silber said.

For the players, the dugouts are the same size as major league dugouts and the players' batting cages are first class. "They're all going to love playing here," Silber said.

The new stadium is located next to the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center in the Celebrate Virginia development in Fredericksburg.

Silber said the field's artificial turf, which looks like real grass and will play similar to grass for the players, will allow the stadium to host concerts and other special events without damaging the field.

By June, the team is hoping to host events where fans can come out and see the field and stadium. Silber said the team has been talking with the Fredericksburg Area Museum and other local museums about having exhibits on the stadium's large concourse.

When fans enter the stadium, they will be walking through a large entry plaza where local organizations will be able to hold fundraising events. A playground is under construction in the plaza area that is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

Silber said the team plans to make the stadium available year-round for corporate events, weddings and hospitality events. The indoor facilities will be able to hold events for up to 300 people.

The team is pursuing LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification for the stadium after it has been opened for 12 months. It will be one of the first minor league baseball stadiums to have 100 percent LED lighting, including the field lights. That type of lighting is expected to reduce electric usage by 30 to 50 percent compared with older ballparks.

Lighting for the parking lot and flagpole will be solar powered, and the stadium roofs are designed to support solar panels in the future.

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