Marya Dowell showed up hoping to hear a civil discussion on neutral ground. That?s the last thing she got. ?If they were looking to gain support from undecided people like myself, they didn?t do it,? she said.
Dowell, a resident of the Pentagon City area, was a rare breed at last week?s public information session sponsored by the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority. Dowell came to the session undecided on the issue that has become one of the most controversial facing the county.
A group of investors and the Stadium Authority are hoping to lure the Montreal Expos to Northern Virginia by next season. Three of five possible locations for the team?s new stadium are in Arlington. Representatives of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority held three information sessions, two in Arlington, in an effort to present plans and calm neighborhood fears.
But after the final session at Gunston Community Center Wednesday, May 28, the debate over baseball was less settled than before the forums began. ?This was a tough crowd,? said Brian Hannigan, a spokesperson for the Stadium Authority.
DOWELL LEFT FEELING no more informed about the advantages and disadvantages of a local stadium than when she walked in. ?Maybe it?s better than some of the choices, but I don?t feel I can truly make an informed decision,? she said. ?I certainly have not been presented with a fair and well-balanced view.?
Stadium Authority panelists talked down to the audience and ignored legitimate neighborhood concerns, said Dowell. Meanwhile opponents refused to see any potential advantages to a nearby stadium.
For instance, a ballpark in Pentagon City could block construction of high-density skyscrapers that would dwarf nearby single-family homes and block views of current apartment-dwellers. ?To me that?s a good thing,? said Dowell. ?That?s probably something that was lost on a lot of no-stadium people.?
In the scuffle between stadium supporters and opponents, there was little or no neutral ground for discussion.
SEVERAL AUDIENCE outbursts marked the first information session, on May 18 at Thomas Jefferson Community Center. By the time the final session came to Gunston, tension between the two sides had increased, and the mood was tense.
?There?s definitely a different energy level at this one,? said Tony Fernandez, who attended both previous sessions.
Dozens of protesters arrived an hour early, posting signs and jockeying for position near the entrance. Cheers and boos interrupted interviews as television cameras rolled onto the scene.
The mood was disturbing to some. ?I feel like [opponents] are really angry,? said Suzanne Lawter, an Arlington native and business owner who thinks a stadium would be a boon to the local economy. ?This is fun stuff. It doesn?t have to be such a drama all the time.?
BUT THE SESSION was prime lobbying time. Organizers for No Arlington Stadium, and counter-demonstrators from Virginians for Baseball passed out signs, stickers and t-shirts.
As people entered the building, organizers for both sides them to choose a side before the session began. Most did.
Kevin Appel, executive director for Virginians for Baseball said his group gave away all 200 shirts they brought. On the opposing side, Ann Garrison reported giving out over 300 anti-stadium stickers.
The lobbying outside stayed intense for much of the night ? some people never even entered the theater for the presentation. Inside, audience members interrupted almost every speaker with shouts, jeers and sometimes profanity.
It was a scene that proved embarrassing even to those sympathetic to the shouted opinions. ?The lack of civility is not in the best interests of Arlington, of anybody,? said stadium opponent Les Garrison.
ANGER EXPRESSED at the forum was a popular discussion topic later. Garrison said it began at the first information session, with stadium supporters? applause prompting some news outlets to report that stadium plans received widespread support.
Stadium opponents came to Gunston determined not to let that happen again, Garrison said, which turned out to be a poor move. ?I regret the profanity, the impoliteness. We should have thought farther ahead.?
Pro-stadium audience members called the outbursts evidence of a desperate but vocal minority. ?The opponents don?t have the numbers, so they have to try and make up for it in noise,? said Larry Roberts, co-chair of the Arlington Baseball Coalition.
Others said the jeers and shouting weren?t evidence of desperation, but frustration. ?I think the level of frustration is growing because we?re getting the same answers and they?re not straight answers,? said Fairlington resident Nancy Hunt.
?It?s disappointing to see how nasty people can get,? said Dowell, ?But I can?t say that it?s surprising when you see that they feel threatened by what?s happening and there?s no one there to represent their position.?
BASEBALL SUPPORTERS say such complaints are unfounded. Stadium Authority Executive Director Gabe Paul, Jr. told the audience that the forums were intended just to provide information about stadium plans. Residents will have opportunities for feedback later, he said.
Derrick Malis of the Arlington Baseball Coalition said stadium opponents have had three chances to hear the Authority?s side of the story, and three other chances to debate the issue at civic association meetings.
?Here now they?ve had three public forums, and that?s not good enough,? said Malis. ?You can?t win. It?s a can?t-win situation that the anti-baseball people are trying to put us in.?
BASEBALL SUPPORTERS felt like they were in hostile territory on May 6, when the Arlington Civic Federation voted overwhelmingly to oppose a stadium, and many baseball opponents felt the Stadium Authority?s information sessions were nothing more than propaganda mills.
The answer to the divisiveness, said Dowell, is for county board members to step in.
Board chair Paul Ferguson has enraged stadium opponents by saying he will remain neutral unless and until a team is awarded, a site is selected and a stadium application comes to the board.
No board members attended the Stadium Authority?s information session, to the dismay of some vocal audience members.
?[Authority officials] did let us know that it was going on,? said Ferguson. ?If I would have gone, some might have thought that I was taking a side one way or another.?