The departed Richmond Braves christened their new ballpark Friday with fireworks, Atlanta Braves dignitaries and Chopper, the team’s hyper groundhog mascot. The Class AAA Gwinnett Braves fell 7-4 in their home opener against the Norfolk Tides before a capacity crowd of 10,427, but that mattered little to Mohammed and Malissa Fahmy. They watched the game—and its steady flow of zany promotions—from a berm overlooking the outfield as their three young children played nearby. They snapped a family photo and left before the final out, having discovered a new place to spend their spring and summer evenings.

The Sports Backers, an organization founded in 1991 to build a more vibrant Richmond community through sports, yesterday endorsed the concept of a Shockoe Bottom ballpark.

There is a movement afoot in our fair city to place a $388-million office/retail/restaurant/hotel development in Shockoe Bottom. At the very center of this development is a proposed $70-million baseball complex that the master develop ers of the entire project argue will be the answer to the question of growth in Shockoe Bottom. I, and those who have joined a Facebook page entitled, “I support baseball on the Boulevard,“ are politely opposed to this project and to the—seemingly—afterthought of a project that has been proposed by the same developers for the site of The Diamond and the Arthur Ashe Center on the Boulevard.

Richmond zoning inspectors will return to Club Velvet to consider whether a giant yellow banner opposing a ballpark for Shockoe Bottom is exempt from city sign regulations. Strip-club owner Samuel J.T. Moore III appeared before the Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday to challenge a ruling that his estimated 300-square-foot sign is illegal because it exceeds size limits.

Residents endorse ballpark project Union Hill group touts benefits of housing and jobs The proposed Shockoe Center ballpark development has picked up the support of the Union Hill Civic Association. The group voted 25-1 with one abstention Wednesday to support Highwoods Properties’ plans for Shockoe Center, which are being reviewed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration and financial advisers for the city.

Studies stick stadium plan in rain delay If they ever build a baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom, I’ll hawk popcorn on Opening Day. Of course, at this rate, I’ll need a walker and a hearing aid. Not to mention dentures, should I want to chow down on some kernels. Take the latest example of ballpark paralysis by analysis: Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ decision to pay three firms $100,000 to analyze the proposed $363 million Shockoe Center development, including a new ballpark.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has enlisted the city’s financial advisers to test the feasibility of a proposed ballpark development for Shockoe Bottom. The city is spending $100,000 to get an outside review of the $363 million Shockoe Center project.

If former Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder’s slavery museum is being abandoned in Fredericksburg, some Richmond officials say it’s time to talk about the project—or something like it—for Shockoe Bottom.

The debate over a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom is getting louder, especially at 15th and East Main streets. A large, bright yellow sign, exclaiming “No Stadium in Shockoe,“ hangs from the side of the building above the neon-lit Club Velvet strip club. Richmond inspectors slapped the building owner with a zoning-violation notice last week, saying the sign exceeds size limits and was not approved.

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.

Richmond officials aren’t ready to go to bat for a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom, but they are supporting state legislation that could help get it built. With a show of hands, a majority of the Richmond City Council signaled yesterday its support for bills introduced by Del. G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, and Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico.

Paul W. Kreckman yesterday looked across a downtown banquet room and made his pitch for baseball in Shockoe Bottom.

Project leaders for a $363 million project for Shockoe Bottom that includes a new baseball park are making the rounds to community groups to solicit support. Shockoe Center would be anchored by a minor-league ballpark surrounded by hotels, apartments and condominiums, restaurants, retail and offices. The developers made presentations to the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association on Monday and to the Church Hill Association yesterday. They met with the Richmond group of Commercial Real Estate Women today and are meeting tonight with the Union Hill Civic Association.

Developers want to build a $60 million ballpark in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom capable of hosting a variety of events. They detailed yesterday how they believe they can pay for the project without tapping tax revenues that currently flow to the city and state.