REMARKS OF BILL COLLINS THANK YOU, LARRY, CHAIRMAN YORK, VICE CHAIRMAN TULLOCH AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. TODAY, IS A VERY SPECIAL DAY FOR MY PARTNERS AND I -- IN THE VIRGINIA BASEBALL CLUB. THIS TEAM WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER REPRESENTS THE BEST OPPORTUNITY ANYWHERE, FOR THE SUCCESSFUL RELOCATION OF A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FRANCHISE. ALL OF THE ELEMENTS FOR SUCCESS ARE EVIDENCED AMONG THE PEOPLE AT THIS PODIUM AND IN THE AUDIENCE. WE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING BALLPARK SITE, WELL BEYOND 60 MILES AND TWO HOURS AWAY FROM CAMDEN YARDS. THIS EXCEPTIONAL BALLPARK SITE IS IN THE EPICENTER OF UNDENIABLY THE BEST MARKET AVAILABLE FOR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. WE HAVE BEEN WELCOMED WITH OPEN ARMS BY THE FASTEST-GROWING COUNTY IN THE NATION. WE ARE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A GROUP WHO ARE AMONG THE FINEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPERS IN THE REGION. THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA IS SECOND TO NONE. AND WE HAVE A FINANCING PLAN THAT IS EQUITABLE AND FAIR, A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF THE BALLPARK -- AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ONE THAT HAS BEEN ENACTED INTO LAW. WE BELIEVE THAT THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE WILL HINGE ON TWO KEY FACTORS - THE PRESENCE OF THE BUSINESSS COMMUNITY, WHICH WILL SUPPORT THIS FRANCHISE THROUGH TICKET SALES, THE PURCHASE OF SUITES, PREMIUM SEATING, AS WELL AS STADIUM AND GAME SPONSORSHIPS, COMBINED WITH THE PRESENCE OF FAMILIES WHO WILL FORM THE BULK OF OUR ATTENDANCE BASE. IN THIS REGARD, WHEN YOU COMPARE DEMOGRAPHICS, ALL OTHER POTENTIAL RELOCATION MARKETS PALE IN COMPARISON TO NORTHERN VIRGINIA . OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, WE HAVE SEEN THE STEADY STREAM OF BUSINESSES THAT HAVE RELOCATED OR EXPANDED OPERATIONS, IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA, AND ARE NOW LOCATED UP AND DOWN THE DULLESS CORRIDOR FROM TYSONS CORNER TO RESTON TOWN CENTER TO HERNDON, AND THROUGHOUT THE ROUTE 28 BUSINESS THOROUGHFARE FROM ROUTE 7 TO ROUTE 66. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HAS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO RELOCATE AMONG THE ULTIMATE GROWTH BUSINESS MARKET WHICH COMPRISES 134 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL OFFICE SPACE WITHIN A FIFTEEN MILE RADIUS OF THIS BALLPARK SITE. IT IS UNPARALLELED WHEN IT COMES TO A RELOCATION MARKET OPPORTUNITY . THIS IS WHERE THE BUSINESSES HAVE RELOCATED, THIS IS WHERE THE BUSINESSES ARE RELOCATING, AND THIS REGION WILL CONTINUE TO ATTRACT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN THE COMING YEARS. IT IS UNDENIABLY THE NUMBER ONE BUSINESS RELOCATION MARKET IN AMERICA . THE PRESENCE OF FORTUNE 1000 COMPANIES IN OUR COUNTIES IS FORMIDABLE. THERE IS A PERSON HERE IN THE AUDIENCE, BOBBIE KILBERG, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL WHICH REPRESENTS FIFTEEN HUNDRED COMPANIES INVOLVED IN THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY HERE IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA . BOBBIE, THANK YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR JOINING WITH US TODAY AND YOU WILL HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO OVERLOOK THIS NEW BALLPARK FROM YOUR OFFICES HERE AT THE CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY. IF YOU ARE A BUSINESS LOOKING TO RELOCATE ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY, YOUR CHOICE WOULD BE NORTHERN VIRGINIA , AS THOUSANDS OF COMPANIES HAVE. AND WHEN YOU LOOK WHERE IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA, IT IS THE DULLES CORRIDOR AND THE GATEWAY TO LOUDOUN COUNTY AND DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT . IT IS HERE, IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA, WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE MAJOR MALLS, THE MAJOR DEPARTMENT STORES, THE ROAD AND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTUCTURE THAT IS IN PLACE AND EXPANDING, THE OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS AND THEIR SPORTS PROGRAMS -- ALL OF THE AMENITIES THAT MAKE THIS THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE AND RAISE A FAMILY - ANYWHERE! OUR FAN BASE CONSISTS OF A FRANCHISE MARKETER'S DREAM. THE PEOPLE HERE IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA ARE PREDOMINANTLY YOUNGER FAMILIES WITH THE HIGHEST AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE NATION. THEY LIVE HERE, THEY WORK HERE, THEY GO TO SCHOOL HERE, THEY SHOP HERE, AND THIS IS WHERE THEY WILL SEEK FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT. AND THERE IS NO BETTER AFFORDABLE FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT IN AMERICA THAN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED TODAY TAKES THE EVOLUTION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WE THANK CHAIRMAN SCOTT YORK, VICE CHAIRMAN BRUCE TULLOCH AND THE MEMBERS OF THE LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AND DEDICATION IN PROVIDING A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF LOUDOUN COUNTY . MY PARTNERS AND I IN THE VIRGINIA BASEBALL CLUB LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM AND THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE THIS A REALITY. WE ALSO THANK OUR PARTNERS IN THIS EFFORT, THE VIRGINIA BASEBALL STADIUM AUTHORITY, AND DIAMOND LAKE ASSOCIATES. KEITH, GABE, HOBIE, AND LARRY, WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF THE VIRGINIA BASEBALL CLUB, AND YOUR TIRELESS WORK TO CREATE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR OUR COMMUNITY. OUR BALLPARK FINANCING PLAN HAS EVOLVED OVER THE LAST DECADE, AND WE ARE PLEASED THAT OUR INITIAL PREMISE OF A PUBLIC PRIVATE BALLPARK FINANCING PLAN THAT WOULD REQUIRE NO NEW LOCAL TAXES, AND CERTAINLY NO TAX ON THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, HAS BEEN ENACTED INTO LAW. AND IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PRESS AND MEDIA TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA REMAINS THE ONLY RELOCATION MARKET WHICH HAS A FULLY FINANCED AND LEGISLATIVELY ENACTED BALLPARK CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE. THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE I WANT TO RECOGNIZE AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND FOR WORKING TOGETHER OVER THESE MANY YEARS TO MAKE THIS EFFORT POSSIBLE - MY PARTNERS IN THE VIRGINIA BASEBALL CLUB: (INTRODUCE PARTNERS IN ATTENDANCE) ELEVEN YEARS AGO, MY PARTNERS AND I BEGAN AN EFFORT TO RETURN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA. THE FIRST PITCH WAS DELIVERED DURING THE 1994-95 EXPANSION PROCESS. THE GAME HAS BEEN ON EVER SINCE. THE SEVENTH INNING STRETCH ACTUALLY BEGAN IN 1997, ONCE THE DEAL WE HAD TO BRING THE HOUSTON ASTROS TO TOWN BECAME A MOOT POINT BECAUSE THE NEW BALLPARK WAS APPROVED IN HOUSTON . HERE WE ARE, SEVEN YEARS LATER, WELL INTO EXTRA INNINGS. JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, THERE WAS A SCORELESS GAME BETWEEN THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS AND ANAHEIM ANGELS THAT WENT INTO THE SEVENTEENTH INNING. THAT GAME HINGED ON EVERY AT-BAT -- AND IN AN EXTRA INNING GAME, AS ALL OF YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE, IT IS A SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE TO BE THE HOME TEAM. AND SO IT DOES IN THIS FINAL STAGE. MY PARTNERS AND I ARE PLEASED TO BE PART OF THIS HOME TEAM AND WE STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS TIME AT BAT, TOGETHER, WE WILL PRODUCE THE GAME WINNING RUN TO DELIVER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA . I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT THE BREWERS, WON THAT GAME 1-0, SCORING THE WINNING RUN FROM FIRST BASE WITH A TWO-OUT DOUBLE IN THE SEVENTEENTH INNING. NORTHERN VIRGINIA IS MAJOR LEAGUE IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD, AND WE BELIEVE THAT COME NEXT APRIL, WE WILL SEE THE RETURN OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO OUR NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA, AND THE SHOVELS WILL BE IN THE GROUND ON THIS VERY SITE, BUILDING WHAT WILL BECOME ONE OF THE BEST BALLPARKS IN AMERICA, THE FUTURE OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. I LOOK AT ALL THESE YOUTH BALLPLAYERS IN ATTENDANCE AND I SEE THE FANS OF TOMORROW. I LOOK AT ALL THE SUPPORTERS OF BASEBALL GATHERED HERE TODAY AND I SEE A WHOLE GENERATION OF NEW FANS FOR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. AN ENTIRE GENERATION WHICH HAS MISSED OUT ON HAVING A HOME TEAM TO CALL OUR OWN, BUT ALL OF THESE SUPPORTERS HERE WITH US CAN PROVIDE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WITH MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF NEW FANS WHO COMPRISE THE STRONGEST DEMOGRAPHICS FOR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN AMERICA. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, PLEASE JOIN ME IF YOU WILL, IN SAYING TWO WORDS WHICH WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL COMMISSIONER BUD SELIG SAY TO NORTHERN VIRGINIA . AND WHAT ARE THOSE TWO GLORIOUS WORDS? - PLAY BALL!!! THANK YOU.
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