The Potomac Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team located in Woodbridge, Virginia. The Nationals play in the Class A Advanced Carolina League, and are an affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
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History
The Alexandria Dukes moved from Alexandria, Virginia, for the 1984 season and were renamed the Prince William Pirates. Since then, the team has been named the Prince William Yankees, Prince William Cannons, Potomac Cannons, and now the Potomac Nationals.
The team has been affiliated with the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and now the Washington Nationals. Since moving to Woodbridge, the franchise has played all its home games at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium, with an announced seating capacity of 6,000 people. The team mascot is Uncle Slam.
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Relocation efforts
The team has been seeking a better ballpark for at least twenty years. When Prince William County officials rejected a 1998 proposal for a $150 million sports and entertainment complex on the Cherry Hill Peninsula by the Potomac River, team owner Art Silber changed the team name from Prince William Cannons to Potomac Cannons and announced an effort to move to Fairfax County. In 2000 the team proposed a $250 million stadium and apartment complex next to Fairfax County's Dunn Loring Metro station, but county officials rejected it in 2001. In 2002 the team and Prince William County officials reached an agreement to build a new $10 million stadium tentatively sited next to Pfitzner Stadium. In 2005 the team announced preliminary details about construction of the stadium, due to open in 2007, but with the site undecided.
The most recent ballpark proposal began as early as 2010. In 2011 Silber said he was looking for a site along I-95 in Prince William and that a stadium would be privately funded. By 2012 the proposal was focused on a site on I-95 in Woodbridge. The team and the county were reported to be close to a deal in December 2016. The county would raise $35 million in municipal bonds, lease the site, pay for site preparation, construct the stadium, and lease it to the team for thirty years. The team would cover the county's annual debt service and site lease costs. The county also would build a 1,400-space parking garage next to the stadium for stadium and commuter parking. The county has been seeking state funding for the garage since 2012, but the extent and status of funding has remained unclear, as has the final cost of the garage. Silber said that Minor League Baseball required the team to be out of Pfitzner Stadium by the end of the 2018 season. The team opposed attempts to put the deal on the November 2017 general election ballot, saying that would delay the deal for too long.
On July 13, 2017, the Nationals withdrew the proposal for the new stadium in Woodbridge after it was clear it did not have the votes to pass. Silber indicated that the team may be sold to buyers outside the Northern Virginia area, but he would prefer to keep it local if possible. Potential locations include the cities of Alexandria (former home of the team when they were the Alexandria Dukes) and Fredericksburg, as well as Loudoun, Spotsylvania, and Fairfax counties. Maryland and Arlington County have been ruled out as possibilities, and Silber indicated it is unlikely the team will find another site in Prince William, either. Alexandria indicated it wasn't interested in February 2018.
In January 2018 Silber announced an extension of the team's lease at Pfitzner Stadium through 2020, though Minor League Baseball must still approve playing there past the end of the 2018 season. Silber said he remains interested in moving the team and building a new stadium, in Northern Virginia--including Prince William County--or another nearby locality. Silber said he was not currently pursuing a sale.
Playoffs
- 1982 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 1-0, in semifinals; defeated Durham, 3-1 to win championship.
- 1989 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2-1, in semifinals; defeated Durham, 3-1 to win championship.
- 1991 season: Lost to Lynchburg, 2-0, in semifinals.
- 1995 season: Lost to Wilmington, 2-0, in semifinals.
- 2004 season: Lost to Wilmington, 2-1, in semifinals.
- 2008 season: Defeated Wilmington, 3-0, in semifinals; defeated Myrtle Beach, 3-1 to win championship.
- 2010 season: Defeated Frederick, 3-1, in semifinals; defeated Winston-Salem, 3-1 to win championship.
- 2011 season: Lost to Frederick, 3-2, in semifinals.
- 2013 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2-0, in semifinals; lost to Salem, 3-0 in finals.
- 2014 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2-0, in semifinals; defeated Myrtle Beach, 3-1 to win championship.
- 2016 season: Lost to Lynchburg 2-1 in semifinals.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni of the Mariners/Pirates/Yankees/Cannons/Nationals include:
Roster
References
External links
- Potomac Nationals Official Site
Source of article : Wikipedia
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