Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said Monday that his administration is close to initiating the first of two studies to determine whether City Stadium should remain a sports venue or be positioned for redevelopment.
Following a request by the City Council in May, the Jones administration expects to finalize language this week to seek proposals for a study that will look at maximizing the stadium's use as a venue for sports and entertainment. Tammy D. Hawley, the mayor's press secretary, said the initial study could take 90 days once the consultant is selected and ready to go.
A second study will then look at the potential for redevelopment of the much coveted 20-acre property, off Maplewood Avenue near Carytown.
Chief Administrative Officer Byron C. Marshall said the city administration has no bias toward either option and that it decided to conduct two studies to allay concerns among some residents that the city was favoring redevelopment.
"We'll figure what the answer is based on the data" from both studies, he said.
Details, including the studies' costs and timelines, were not immediately available.
Early last year, a development group's interest in City Stadium set off a near-frenzy over the site's future. Virginia Commonwealth University also expressed interest in the stadium as a sports venue.
"We're excited to hear about the city moving forward with the studies and look forward to the results of the studies," said Paul Bratten, a spokesman for the Fulton Hill Partnership, which had floated ideas of a large mixed-use development on the property.
"We still think that site presents incredible opportunities to create jobs and tax revenues for the city."
In May, the council approved a pair of resolutions requesting a study or studies of what should be done with the stadium, which had been leased by the University of Richmond until its football team moved to an on-campus stadium after the 2009 season. Since then, the stadium has been used by the Richmond Kickers professional soccer team, the Virginia Hornets semipro football team, city schools for their football games, and other events.
The council resolutions included a nonbinding deadline to complete the review by October 2011. The studies have taken longer than expected to initiate because administration officials have been meeting with community representatives to finalize details of the initial request, Hawley said.
City Councilman E. Martin Jewell, whose 5th District includes the stadium, has been in no hurry to reignite debate about whether the property should be redeveloped. He said City Stadium has been allowed to languish while other city-owned venues have received attention and support.
"This has never had professional management and marketing," he said. "If we did that, we might find that we have a diamond in the rough."
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