Mike Williams’ column: A riverside Richmond ballpark could work

This column contains no mea culpa, no "I was wrong." Today, the operative phrase is, "I told you so."

If I was mistaken in thinking Shockoe Bottom was a viable and inevitable location for a new baseball stadium, let me now point out that I began advocating a riverfront site for a new ballpark in October 2000.

Now comes Reynolds Packaging Group, which owns almost 18 acres of property on the south bank of the James River between the Manchester and Mayo bridges. It's pitching this site for a minor-league baseball stadium.

"How good would a ballpark look there?" asked John T. "Trib" Sutton III, a senior vice president of the real estate brokerage handling the sale of the property.

It would look like a walk-off home run.

Look, I'm not on a real estate commission. I have no stake in this proposal. As someone who visited The Diamond once or twice a season, I'm not even convinced minor-league baseball is essential in Richmond.

I do believe such a recreational diversion enhances a community's quality of life. And pro sports, even on the minor-league level, have a unique capacity to rally a community. Goodness knows we need rallying.

You won't find me arguing that baseball should be near the top of our list of civic priorities. But if the region is going to build a ballpark -- and this should without question be a regional endeavor -- it will require taxpayer money.

Let's do it right. We can erect a cut-rate ballpark, as we did in 1985. The Diamond was the toast of minor-league baseball on opening day. It was obsolete by the seventh-inning stretch.

How is it that our region can boast of a half-dozen Fortune 500 companies and a fairly lofty average household income, yet plead pauper at the mere mention of the sort of municipal project routinely pulled off in lesser cities nationwide?

Again, there's no concrete proposal on the table for a Manchester ballpark. But any project that opens up the riverfront to the public should be a no-brainer. And a ballpark setting that offers vistas of the James River and downtown skyline would trump anything North Boulevard, Shockoe Bottom or Short Pump could offer.

It's our nature in Richmond to be wary of the unfamiliar, the unconventional or anything that takes us beyond our comfort zones. If you close your eyes, you can hear the chorus: "Can I get in and out of there quickly? What about crime? South Side? Seriously? Who goes there?"

We must stop allowing fear to keep us mired in safe but mundane terrain.

For too long, Richmond has swum against the tide, resisting the tug of the James, which should be the focal point of civic life. Before you dismiss this ballpark idea, head down to Manchester -- Legend's Brewery would be a fine vantage point -- and soak in the possibilities: A waterfront home for say, the Richmond Rapids. Kayakers and canoeists shagging home runs. All brought to you by ESPN SportsCenter if you didn't catch it in person.

Richmond, by virtue of its glorious setting, is equipped to build something no one else can duplicate. The choice is ours.

We can build a ballpark, or we can make a splash.

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or .