Prince William Stadium

The home-place entrance to G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium, Jul-2006.

The ballpark has a nearly all-aluminum seating bowl.

Woods surround the field, on the edge of the county administration complex.

• Location: County Complex Court, Woodbridge, Va.
• Opened: 1984 as Prince William Co. Stadium
• Additional names: G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium (1997)
• Home team: Prince William Pirates (1984-86), Yankees (1987-88), Cannons (1989-98), Potomac Cannons (1999-2004), Potomac Nationals (2005-present), Carolina League
• Capacity: 6,000

Rating: 1 baseball

So when they floated a proposal to put a minor league team in Prince William County, Va., about 20 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., it was met enthusiastically. The trouble is, this is what they wound up with when a team moved from Alexandria in 1984.

Prince William Stadium (which is now known as G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium) looks fine from the outside. It’s when one gets in that it becomes a headache. The seating is mainly aluminum benches affixed to an aluminum superstructure (the park does have molded plastic box seats), and there’s absolutely no roof to help keep the spectators cool during hot summer games.

I saw the Cannons play in August 1994, when they were scheduling Sunday games in mid-afternoon. The place was just brutal. The Cannons, who changed their location designation from “Prince William” to “Potomac“ in 1999, now play mostly Sunday evening games, which is a little better. But the stadium has absolutely no charm to it, which is a shame.

The club is now affiliated with the Washington Nationals, who started play in 2005, and that has provided a slight attendance boost. There is talk – but just talk so far – of building a more modern ballpark further out on county complex land.