RMA will first deal with short-term baseball issues

The Richmond Metropolitan Authority will deal with a pair of short-term baseball issues and after that, perhaps be involved with a long-term ballpark plan, RMA General Manager Mike Berry said yesterday.

The RMA, which owns and operates The Diamond on behalf of the city and Henrico and Chesterfield counties, is working with the Eastern League to secure one of its 12 Class AA franchises for next season.

That situation will be resolved by Aug. 1, according to the Eastern League. Sources said it could be determined early next month that the Connecticut franchise, contractually affiliated with the San Francisco Giants through 2010, will relocate to Richmond.

Once Richmond's next franchise is set, the RMA will work with club owners to make necessary improvements to The Diamond. The RMA is prepared to commit $75,000, with the franchise providing more, according to Berry, to allow The Diamond to accommodate the club and fans for the next few years.

Then, Berry said, the RMA may be a partner in the "collaborative effort" to formulate a long-term ballpark solution.

The Shockoe Center proposal, which included a $60 million ballpark in the Bottom, was withdrawn Tuesday. This leaves Opening Day Partners' proposed $28 million transformation of The Diamond as the only publicly released ballpark plan. Berry said that is the only ballpark plan of which he is aware.

Berry added that the Opening Day proposal "is on the table, [but] I have not had any conversation with the city about that or any of the regional partners about that other than the fact they know about it."

If the current Boulevard location of The Diamond becomes the preferred long-term option, Berry raised these questions:

• Once a $25 million to $30 million transformation of The Diamond is agreed to, how much would jurisdictions -- with Hanover County potentially included -- contribute and could construction be performed in phases to allow for continuous play?

• How much would it cost jurisdictions for a new ballpark, and where near The Diamond's footprint could construction take place to allow for continuous play?

• What portion of construction cost, in either case, would be assumed by the owner/operator of the new franchise?

Local officials said it would be premature to declare Opening Day's $28 million proposal for The Diamond a starting point for the stadium talks.

Henrico County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett said there are still too many unknowns, including what team would play here, the kind of stadium needed, where it would be and when it would be needed. Also, there's the issue of at least partial financing from the localities.

While Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond agreed in the past to help pay for a renovation of The Diamond, Hazelett said he would not expect an automatic renewal of that commitment.

"We'll have to decide whether we can do that in this economic situation," he said of Henrico officials. "We won't know that until we all get together."

Hazelett said Henrico officials have been unwilling to consider a stadium site in the county while the preferred location was in Richmond. He said that position wasn't changed with the demise of Shockoe Center.

"It could change it," he added, "but it hasn't changed as of one day."

Chesterfield supervisors Chairman A.S. "Art" Warren said, "We've never seen concrete reasons for looking at any other site" than The Diamond.

But, he added, "given the state of our economy and the tightness of our budget, it would be very difficult to give serious consideration to any type of financial commitment for a new baseball stadium. However, from a regional standpoint, it's always helpful to have discussions planning for the future of baseball in the region and that should include potential sites in counties."

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones inherited the Shockoe Center proposal from the previous administration. On Tuesday, Jones said the withdrawal of the proposal "affords us an avenue to fully re-engage our regional partners in the discussion."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or .

Staff writers Will Jones and Wesley P. Hester contributed to this report.