Maryland Stadium Authority

The quest for a new minor league baseball stadium hit another snag on Tuesday when the Washington County Commissioners said they weren't ready to approve funding for another study. Hagerstown City Councilman Alfred W. Boyer asked the commissioners to contribute $190,000 toward the cost of a study the Maryland Stadium Authority would conduct before any hotel tax revenues could be used to construct a new stadium. A bill before the Maryland General Assembly would require the study, but it had not been passed as of Tuesday, Boyer said.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Washington County is looking for 500 to 1,200 acres to possibly become the site of a state horse park and, so far, the front runner for the nomination is the property that houses the county's Agricultural Education Center off Sharpsburg Pike. Robert Mandley, project coordinator for the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission (EDC), told the County Commissioners on Tuesday that the Maryland Stadium Authority asked counties and municipalities to nominate property for a proposed Maryland horse park.

It appears that Hagerstown officials will seek a state grant to fund a feasibility study for a minor league baseball stadium and convention center, but are waiting to see if Washington County will join in, City Administrator Bruce Zimmerman said Tuesday. Washington County Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook said the commissioners will discuss whether to co-sign the grant application next Tuesday. Snook said they were hesitant because they voted 3-2 in February not to spend county money on a stadium, either directly or indirectly by building roads and sewers.

The Maryland Stadium Authority is reviewing potential sites for a proposed $15 million minor league baseball stadium and railroad museum complex for Hagerstown, Richard Phoebus, chairman of the private committee promoting the project, said Wednesday. The sites being considered include the city's Municipal Stadium, land along Wesel Boulevard near the intersection with Burhans Boulevard, which was a previous preferred site for a new stadium, and the current preferred site, which is behind the Centre at Hagerstown near the U.S. 40 and Interstate 81 interchange, Phoebus said.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY / Staff Writer photo: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer Build a new minor-league baseball stadium and fans will come, the former chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority told Washington County business leaders Tuesday. Lose the Hagerstown Suns by not building it, and new businesses might not come, warned John A. Moag Jr., who said Washington County's economic development efforts would suffer if the Hagerstown Suns left the county.

Four of the five Washington County Commissioners said Wednesday that stadium supporters must choose a preferred site and present a financial analysis before they will commit to funding stadium studies. The fifth commissioner, Bill Wivell, said he did not have to see an analysis to know he will vote against taxpayer funding of a baseball stadium. "We just need more detailed information other than that they want to build a stadium," Commissioners President Greg Snook said. "We want an overall financial plan, including where it (stadium)

Council members agree to stadium study The Hagerstown City Council will go forward with a $50,000 study of a new minor league baseball stadium. Council members agreed Tuesday to seek grants to help pay for the study. The Washington County Commissioners endorsed the study but did not commit any money. Councilman Alfred W. Boyer said he normally doesn't support government studies, but makes an exception in this case. "I think there's clearly a need for this study to make intelligent decisions about our community's future," he said.

andrews@herald-mail.com A committee working to build a stadium at North Hagerstown High School has hired a fund-raising consultant. North High Principal Robert T. "Bo" Myers said Nancy C. Saidis & Associates of Mechanicsburg, Pa., east of Carlisle, Pa., will investigate whether enough money can be raised in the community to build the stadium. The firm is scheduled to submit a report to the committee by late January, Myers said. The committee has raised $25,000 to pay for the study, he said.

The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to endorse an economic feasibility study to assess the viability of a new minor league baseball stadium - but only if no county money is used to fund it. The 4-0 vote kept alive the possibility that a new baseball stadium eventually might be built in Hagerstown. Commissioner James R. Wade, a vocal critic of public financing for a stadium, was absent Tuesday. Business leaders urged the commissioners to back the study, which would analyze the best spot for a stadium to replace the aging Municipal Stadium on Memorial Boulevard.

ANNAPOLIS - The local legislative delegation threw the fate of Hagerstown minor league baseball back to City of Hagerstown and Washington County elected officials Wednesday. cont. from front page The Hagerstown Roundhouse and Sports Complex could be in jeopardy unless the city and county agree on the local share of money. Supporters of the $12 million to $15 million Hagerstown Roundhouse and Sports Complex hope to resolve the problem in time to ask Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening for money this session, which ends April 10. The Washington County legislative delegation voted Wednesday to raise the hotel-motel tax and give the county money for economic development and tourism.

It's no secret that Hagerstown Suns majority owner Bruce Quinn has been considering moving the team to Winchester, Va., where the idea of a stadium in a new location has been gaining momentum. However, the release last week of Ripken Design's feasibility study for a new multiuse sports and events center in downtown Hagerstown is setting up an interesting scenario for Quinn. City and Washington County elected officials were joined Tuesday afternoon by members of the state legislative delegation to review the study and talk about constructing the proposed $30 million downtown facility near the intersection of East Baltimore Street and Summit Avenue.

Government should move stadium project forward To the editor: Washington County is in danger of losing the Hagerstown Suns because Municipal Stadium is not up to the minimum standards for Class A professional baseball. Either the stadium must be improved to minimum standards or the team must move. The Suns owners have no choice but to comply. Some people have a misunderstanding about the purpose of minor league baseball and the positive benefits of having a local team.

Leadership, Washington County, Md., style: A decade ago, the Washington County legislative delegation approves funding for a new minor league baseball stadium on the condition that the funding not be spent on a new minor league baseball stadium. Or it could, but only if specific benchmarks were met, including the involvement of the Maryland Stadium authority; an adaptability of the stadium for lacrosse; and a lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The law said that the county must raise money for a stadium by spending money on sewers.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Washington County is looking for 500 to 1,200 acres to possibly become the site of a state horse park and, so far, the front runner for the nomination is the property that houses the county's Agricultural Education Center off Sharpsburg Pike. Robert Mandley, project coordinator for the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission (EDC), told the County Commissioners on Tuesday that the Maryland Stadium Authority asked counties and municipalities to nominate property for a proposed Maryland horse park.

John Williamson didn't attend North Hagerstown High School. He's not even a Hagerstown native. So why is he chairing the campaign to build a $2.3 million stadium at the school? There are many reasons, but the one that hit home with me was Williamson's experience in seeing what his three children learned about life and teamwork by playing soccer for North High. "In talking to my kids, particularly to Brian, he told me he learned that you may not like the person you're on a team with, but you have to work together to succeed," Williamson said.

Editor's note - Please be as brief as possible when calling Mail Call, The Daily Mail's reader call-in line. Mail Call is not staffed on weekends or holidays so it is best to call Mail Call during the week. The Mail Call number is 301-791-6236. You are welcome to leave a recorded message on any subject, but some calls will be screened out. Here are some of the calls we have received lately: "I think some people at City Hall should get out and shovel residents' walks instead of contracting the job out. Then maybe they wouldn't be so quick to enforce the city snow laws.

andrews@herald-mail.com A committee working to build a stadium at North Hagerstown High School has hired a fund-raising consultant. North High Principal Robert T. "Bo" Myers said Nancy C. Saidis & Associates of Mechanicsburg, Pa., east of Carlisle, Pa., will investigate whether enough money can be raised in the community to build the stadium. The firm is scheduled to submit a report to the committee by late January, Myers said. The committee has raised $25,000 to pay for the study, he said.

Stadium vote could come soon, 2 commissioners undecided By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer Two Washington County Commissioners remained undecided on whether to support a $15 million plan to build a new baseball stadium at Hagerstown's Municipal Stadium, after a nearly two-hour presentation and discussion of the plan Tuesday. continued But those undecided commissioners, John L. Schnebly and Bert L. Iseminger, will probably have to make up their minds soon.

Stadium site decision due By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer The location of a proposed baseball stadium for Hagerstown probably will be decided Monday, but a public announcement of that decision may not come until the next joint meeting of Hagerstown and Washington County elected officials on Oct. 17, City Engineer Bruce Johnston said Tuesday. Also expected for the October meeting are revised cost estimates for the project and drawings of the proposed stadium, said Johnston, who represented the private group pushing the stadium plan before a joint city-county meeting Tuesday.

The Maryland Stadium Authority is reviewing potential sites for a proposed $15 million minor league baseball stadium and railroad museum complex for Hagerstown, Richard Phoebus, chairman of the private committee promoting the project, said Wednesday. The sites being considered include the city's Municipal Stadium, land along Wesel Boulevard near the intersection with Burhans Boulevard, which was a previous preferred site for a new stadium, and the current preferred site, which is behind the Centre at Hagerstown near the U.S. 40 and Interstate 81 interchange, Phoebus said.