Richmond gets extra time on ballpark

By: Will Jones | Times-Dispatch
Published: January 29, 2009

The developers pitching a minor-league ballpark for Shockoe Bottom are giving Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones an extra five months to swing.

At Jones' request, the developers have pushed their deadline to get preliminary city approval from March 1 to Aug. 1, project spokesman Pete Boisseau confirmed yesterday.

The delay won't affect the ballpark's targeted opening in 2012, but it will mean that local investors who hope to buy a team will have to do so without any guarantee that the Shockoe Center development will be approved, he said.

The owners "will be working without a net," Boisseau said, adding that "they're optimistic that [a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom] will be the outcome."

Bryan Bostic, who is leading the Richmond Baseball Club LC ownership group, would not discuss the ramifications of the delay but added: "Our plan is to be playing at The Diamond in 2010 and a new ballpark in 2012."

Jones, who took office Jan. 1, has been emphatic that his administration would not be rushed by the developers, led by Highwoods Properties of Raleigh, N.C.

"They're working in their interest, and we're working in ours," Jones said yesterday.

The $363 million Shockoe Center project was introduced under Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, and it seeks to turn largely battered, flood-prone parking lots into an urban entertainment center with hotels, restaurants, offices and residences.

The $60 million ballpark would be financed with bonds paid off with taxes generated by the ballpark and new private development. No market studies have been released, but the developers say their projections will have to be verified independently before bonds are sold.

In the General Assembly late yesterday, a bill that would provide partial financing for the ballpark cleared a major hurdle when a subcommittee of the House Finance Committee voted 7-1 to recommend it to the full committee Monday.

At the suggestion of city officials, the bill has been revised so it could apply to a new ballpark or to improvements to The Diamond.

"Since the city has not yet determined which, if any, course of development is best, we would like to keep all of our options open," Jones wrote in a letter to Del. G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, sponsor of the legislation.

The amended bill also would lower the revenue-generating sales-tax portion derived from the new facility and ancillary properties from 4 percent to 2.5 percent. The lower rate is in line with similar legislation used to build hotel or convention centers in Roanoke, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Suffolk, Loupassi said.

Ralph L. "Bill" Axselle Jr., a lawyer for Shockoe Center, said the developers are comfortable with the changes.

The project's new timetable calls for the Jones administration to issue a letter of intent by Aug. 1 signaling its support for the development. Project officials also hope that by then they'll be close to a formal agreement and zoning approval, Boisseau said.

In the meantime, Bostic and other prospective team owners will proceed to buy a minor-league franchise by the end of March, Boisseau said. The schedule is necessary to beat the start of baseball season, during which franchise relocations won't be approved, he said.

Before then, the group will seek an agreement with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority allowing the new team to play at The Diamond in 2010 and 2011. The developers had once held out hope that the new ballpark might be ready by 2011.

Boisseau said the developers were encouraged this week when Jones and the City Council endorsed the ballpark-financing bills that are before the General Assembly.

"We took that as a sign that they want baseball back in the city. It's up to us to convince them that what we say is true."

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Tyler Whitley contributed to this report.