Loudoun Hounds out of 2012

[Texasrangers13]

Jim Seip, covering the Atlantic League All-Star Game, confirmed that the Loudoun Hounds will not be taking the field in 2012. This is a big hit for Loudoun County, who showed up in force at the Fanfest, but is NO SURPRISE to me.

[GoCyclones!]

Hmm, did he indicate why or offer any details? It doesn't appear that any ground has broken here. There did seem to be a lot of promoting of the team, so I am a bit surprised if this is a fact. The Potomac Nationals are expected to make an announcement regarding a new ballpark. I wonder if that in any way affects this project. Not looking forward to another year of this Road Warrior business!

[Texasrangers13]

Road Warriors are done, Sugar Land, Texas replaces them. 140 game season, 8 teams, play each other 20 times each. Each team will make two trips to Texas for 5-game series.

Sounds rough to me.

The good news is this might end the AWFUL press releases the team puts out. I've never seen so many puns in an article.

[HeadFirst]

Rumors of the Hounds' demise are greatly exaggerated.

Speaking as a representative of the Loudoun Hounds Professional Baseball Club, we are still planning, preparing and proceeding to participate in the 2012 Atlantic League season, in coordination with the League. Exact details are still being finalized, but the timeframe for that finalization is short and meetable.

Expect many more press and other releases from the Hounds in the future ... puns and all!

[GoCyclones!]

Thanks for the clarification, Head. Has any ground broken on the stadium yet? If not, can a park be built in nine months, minus the winter months? Let's keep the optimism!

[Texasrangers13]

I hate to burst the positivity bubble, but Loudoun is out for 2012, the board of directors voted on this at the all-star break.

"Atlantic League meetings: The league's board of directors, consisting of owners and league officials, met Wednesday morning to make several decisions for the 2012 season.
The league will welcome the Sugar Land Skeeters (Texas) as an expansion club in 2012, but the Loudoun Hounds (Va.) will not play next season. The Hounds provided a presentation to the board, but the group has not finalized its financing.
The Hounds still plan to join the league, but it will be after 2012."

Sorry guys but it is not happening. 2013 is a good time, it gives Loudoun time to get the financing and they will join with Nassau. It is a good fit for all involved.

[jidyfan]

Here is what Jim Seip reported and a link to the article.

http://www.ydr.com/revolution/ci_18473093


Atlantic League meetings: The league's board of directors, consisting of owners and league officials, met Wednesday morning to make several decisions for the 2012 season.

The league will welcome the Sugar Land Skeeters (Texas) as an expansion club in 2012, but the Loudoun Hounds (Va.) will not play next season. The Hounds provided a presentation to the board, but the group has not finalized its financing.

The Hounds still plan to join the league, but it will be after 2012.

To avoid the scheduling headaches that would result from having an odd number of teams in the league, the Road Warriors will be disbanded after the season and Sugar Land will join the league, which will continue to sustain eight teams.

The Atlantic League will play a 140-game balanced schedule (20 games against each team) in 2012. The team played a 126-game schedule in 2011 when the all-travel Road Warriors replaced the Newark Bears.

Peter Kirk, Opening Day Partners chairman and the owner of the Sugar Land Skeeters, confirmed that the seven East Coast teams will make two trips to Texas to play Sugar Land next season as part of the 20 games each team will play against the Skeeters. It will mark the first time the league's teams will fly to games.

The league has not finalized divisional breakdowns for the 2012 season, but a shift could be in order with Sugar Land joining the league.

All-Star Game in 2012: The Camden Riversharks will host the Atlantic League All-Star Game in 2012 at Campbell's Field. It's the first time the event has returned to picturesque Campbell's Field since the 2004 season.

Expansion outlook: Atlantic League founder and CEO Frank Boulton said if the $400 million in bonds passes a vote from the Nassau County (N.Y.) public on Aug. 1, Boulton's Atlantic League expansion franchise for Nassau County could play ball as soon as April 2013.

Making money: A year after the Newark Bears moved to the short-season Can-Am League, the Atlantic League announced it was on solid footing financially.

"Even in these difficult times all our teams are profitable," Kirk said. "We may be the only professional league able to say that."

[jidyfan]

Here is Loudoun's response from their website to the Jim Seip article:

July, 2011 – #7

Hounds Fans,

The Hounds senior management team and a couple of our investors just came back from a the Atlantic League All Star game in York, PA this past Wednesday which was won by the Freedom Division 7-0. The Hounds team made a presentation to the Atlantic League Board of Directors sharing an update on a number of issues such as our ballpark, our financing and plans for 2012.

One critical point I do want to clarify is a brief story that has appeared in the York Daily Record and some other publications as it pertains to the Loudoun Hounds. Comments were made by a league executive that stated The Hounds were not going to begin play in 2012 and that we did not have our financing secured. I want to assure everyone that we are working very hard to, indeed, begin play next year and are working on a multi-faceted plan to do just that. The League certainly reserves the right to confirm our start of play but it is our understanding that we can achieve such if we can present an acceptable plan. We plan to do just that in the coming few weeks. As for our financing, I have been relaying that we have had numerous options available to us and we are trying to make the best deal for The Hounds. These are difficult times as we all know but we hope this will be completed very soon.

Among those innovations being explored are options to hold games in the Loudoun County region during the first half of the season and be in our new ballpark for the start of the second half. No doubt, it is an aggressive task but we are working to this and other goals we believe you will enjoy. We remain optimistic that the Hounds will be playing in 2012.

The Hounds are committed to our fans and bringing baseball and other events to Loudoun County. We appreciate your continued patience and support. Thank you.

Bob Farren
President & CEO
Loudoun Hounds Professional Baseball Club

[GoCyclones!]

Thanks for the updates, guys. I wonder since it's a financing issue, could it potentially cast the whole existence of the team in doubt? Glad to see all teams are profitable, even Bridgeport who a few years ago there were rumors about doubts about their future.

[HeadFirst]

According to the highest of the high in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball speaking directly with the highest of the high with the Loudoun Hounds Professional Baseball Club yesterday (14 July), it is not factual that the Hounds are ruled out for 2012.

It must be pointed out that this ballpark is being financed via entirely private means, with exactly $0.00 coming from local and state taxpayers. Very, very few ballparks are financed under such circumstances, let alone during such a recession. Therefore, if it takes some time to gather it all together, then it's wholly understandable that the process at times drags.

We are in constant contact with the Atlantic League, are happy and honored to have the opportunity to add our uniqueness to such a highly regarded brand, and have very good reason to believe we figure into their plans for next season. Reports that we are definitely out for 2012 are simply not true -- and this fact of non-truth was verified yesterday.

Again, as disclosure, I am a paid employee (and happily so) of the Loudoun Hounds. We're a real thing, we have land and approval and support (political and public) and an ever-evolving ballpark design, we have a name and a logo and a mascot and an office and a staff and many many potential financing opportunities, and we're really on track for 2012.