What should be the Fredericksburg team name?

March 27, 2019 | Fredericksburg Business News | Fredericksburg Nationals Baseball

The Potomac Nationals had an action-packed week making progress toward their new Fredericksburg stadium and deciding what to name the team that will play there.

At the City Council meeting Tuesday, team part-owner Seth Silber announced that the P-Nats will be holding a name-the-team contest. Team owners might decide to keep it the Fredericksburg Nationals due to the immense brand recognition that name already has, but they want to get all ideas before deciding for sure. A survey has been developed where people can submit their ideas for the new name. The contest will run through May 1.

“The team encourages everyone in the community to participate in this process and help us determine what name best fits Fredericksburg,” said Team President Lani Silber Weiss. “We’re also looking for other creative and entertaining ideas – from kids to seasoned fans – on mascots, logos, and other concepts.”

The P-Nats will select the best team name concepts, which will then be put up to a final vote by Fredericksburg Baseball fans. The selection process, and then voting, will culminate in the official announcement of the Fredericksburg… as the team heads into the 2020 season.

The announcement about the naming contest came shortly after a City Council vote Tuesday to remove all contingencies from the 30-year agreement between the City of Fredericksburg and the Club. Those contingencies entailed a City review of the team’s ground lease, a financing commitment, and approvals from Minor League Baseball and the Carolina League to move the team from Woodbridge to Fredericksburg. With all of those matters now resolved to the City’s satisfaction, Council voted unanimously to remove the contingencies.

Also this week, Fredericksburg’s Economic Development Authority voted to allow the team to issue federally taxable bonds through the Authority. The EDA will not have any financial responsibility for the bonds but rather will receive a fee of about $35,000 from the team for being the conduit issuer. The EDA can use those funds for additional economic development initiatives.

The team hopes to begin construction in early May and have the 5,000-seat stadium near the Fredericksburg Expo Center open in time for Opening Day in April 2020.

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