The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. They were located in

Woodbridge, Virginia Woodbridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located south of Washington, D.C.. Bounded by the Occoquan and Potomac rivers, Woodbridge had 44,668 residents at the 2020 census. Woodbridge o ...

, and played their home games at

Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium, nicknamed "The Pfitz", is a stadium in the Coles Magisterial District of Prince William County, Virginia. It is primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Potomac Nationals before they ...

. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, becoming the

Fredericksburg Nationals The Fredericksburg Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team that is the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and play their home games at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, with a capacity o ...

History

The

Alexandria Dukes The Alexandria Dukes were a Minor League Baseball team of the Class A Carolina League from 1978 to 1983. Alexandria was unable to secure a Major League Baseball affiliate for their inaugural season, and again in 1980, forcing the team to operate ...

moved from

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, to Woodbridge for the 1984 season and were renamed the Prince William Pirates. Subsequently, the team was named the Prince William Yankees, Prince William Cannons, Potomac Cannons, and the Potomac Nationals. The team was affiliated with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, and lastly the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. The franchise played all its home games at

, with an announced

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 6,000 people. The team mascot was Uncle Slam, a blue creature resembling

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

in hair and attire.

Relocation

Previous attempts

The team sought a better ballpark for at least twenty years. When

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

officials rejected a 1998 proposal for a $150 million sports and entertainment complex on the Cherry Hill Peninsula by the Potomac River, team owner Art Silber changed the team name from Prince William Cannons to Potomac Cannons and announced an effort to move to Fairfax County. In 2000, the team proposed a $250 million stadium and apartment complex next to Fairfax County's Dunn Loring Metro station, but county officials rejected it in 2001. In 2002, the team and Prince William County officials reached an agreement to build a new $10 million stadium tentatively sited next to Pfitzner Stadium. In 2005, the team announced preliminary details about construction of the stadium, due to open in 2007, but with the site undecided. Another ballpark proposal began as early as 2010. In 2011, Silber said he was looking for a site along

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

in Prince William and that a stadium would be privately funded. By 2012 the proposal was focused on a site on I-95 in Woodbridge. The team and the county were reported to be close to a deal in December 2016. The county would raise $35 million in municipal bonds, lease the site, pay for site preparation, construct the stadium, and lease it to the team for thirty years. The team would cover the county's annual debt service and site lease costs. The county also would build a 1,400-space parking garage next to the stadium for stadium and commuter parking. The county sought state funding for the garage starting in 2012, but the extent and status of funding was never clear, nor was the final cost of the garage. Silber said that Minor League Baseball required the team to be out of Pfitzner Stadium by the end of the 2018 season. The team opposed attempts to put the deal on the November 2017 general election ballot, saying that would delay the deal for too long. On July 13, 2017, the Nationals withdrew the proposal for the new stadium in Woodbridge after it was clear it did not have the votes to pass. Silber indicated that the team could be sold to buyers outside the Northern Virginia area, but that he preferred to keep it local if possible. Potential locations included the cities of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

(former home of the team when they were the

) and Fredericksburg, as well as

Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...

, Spotsylvania, and Fairfax counties.

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

were ruled out as possibilities, and Silber indicated it was unlikely the team would find another site in Prince William, either. Alexandria indicated it wasn't interested in February 2018. In January 2018, Silber announced an extension of the team's lease at Pfitzner Stadium through 2020, still needing Minor League Baseball to approve playing there past the end of the 2018 season. Silber remained interested in moving the team and building a new stadium, in Northern Virginia—including Prince William County—or another nearby locality, but said he was not pursuing a sale.

Move to Fredericksburg

Silber announced in June 2018 that he had signed a letter of intent to build a new stadium in

, that would open in April 2020. The 5,000-seat multi-purpose stadium will include a 300-seat club facility and 13 suites. In November 2018 the Fredericksburg city council unanimously gave final approval for the Silber family to finance, build and maintain the $35 million stadium with the city as an "anchor tenant" making an annual payment to the club of $1.05 million for 30 years. The Potomac Nationals played their last regular season game at Pfitzner Stadium on August 29, 2019. On October 5, 2019, the team announced that it had changed its name to the

for the 2020 season and that its marketing nickname for the team – "P-Nats" when the team was the Potomac Nationals – would change to "FredNats." Because minor league baseball for 2020 was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic, the Fredericksburg Nationals played their first game on May 4, 2021.

Playoffs

*1989 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2–1, in semifinals; defeated

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, 3–1 to win championship. *1991 season: Lost to Lynchburg, 2–0, in semifinals. *1995 season: Lost to Wilmington, 2–0, in semifinals. *2004 season: Lost to Wilmington, 2–1, in semifinals. *2008 season: Defeated Wilmington, 3–0, in semifinals; defeated

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, 3–1 to win championship. *2010 season: Defeated

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, 3–1, in semifinals; defeated

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

, 3–1 to win championship. *2011 season: Lost to

, 3–2, in semifinals. *2013 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2–0, in semifinals; lost to Salem, 3–0 in finals. *2014 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2–0, in semifinals; defeated

, 3–1 to win championship. *2016 season: Lost to Lynchburg 2–1 in semifinals. *2018 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 3–2, in semifinals; lost to

Buies Creek Buies Creek is a long 3rd order tributary to the Cape Fear River in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. Course Buies Creek rises about 1.5 miles southeast of Angier and then flows south to join the Cape Fear River about 1 mile south ...

, 1–0 in finals.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of the Mariners/Pirates/Yankees/Cannons/Nationals include:

References

External links

{{Commons category, Potomac Nationals
Official website
Baseball teams established in 1984 Baseball teams disestablished in 2019 Prince William County, Virginia Sports in Northern Virginia Professional baseball teams in Virginia Washington Nationals minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates New York Yankees minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Carolina League teams 1984 establishments in Virginia 2019 disestablishments in Virginia Defunct Carolina League teams Defunct baseball teams in Virginia