Short Pump offers better site for stadium

The question comes frequently these days.

Should a baseball stadium be built in Shockoe Bottom or on the Boulevard?

The answer? Neither.

The Short Pump area in Henrico County makes the most sense for the region.

The stadium in Shockoe Bottom is supposed to serve as the anchor around which condominiums, a hotel, retail shops and restaurants will be built.

Those things already exist in Short Pump.

Short Pump is not just Short Pump Town Center, Downtown Short Pump and a conglomeration of big-box stores and smaller shopping areas.

Short Pump is a small city. Short Pump is midtown Manhattan without sidewalks. And midtown Manhattan is a busy, vibrant place.

According to Henrico County statistics, 47,634 people lived within 2 miles of Short Pump Town Center at the end of 2007.

That number does not include sections of Goochland County that are within the 2-mile radius. Nor does the 2-mile radius include all of the Wyndham development.

That compares favorably with the population base for Shockoe Bottom. The city's community development office estimates that 60,000 people live within an area a bit larger than a 2-mile radius of Shockoe Bottom.

Accessibility is a point of contention in the Shockoe Bottom stadium debate.

Short Pump can be reached via I-64, I-295 and Route 288. Five major surface roads pass through the area.

Short Pump has its shortcomings. Traffic can be a mess. Crossing the street is risky.

The Short Pump area needs to be more pedestrian-friendly. People need to be able to park at the nearby malls, on both sides of Broad Street, shop and eat, then walk to games.

There is one significant problem with Short Pump. But it is a problem no matter where a stadium is built -- no one wants to pay for it.

Henrico County can bear this burden. The county is well-managed and has an AAA bond rating. The county can pay for the facility by adding a stadium tax to the sales tax in the Short Pump area.

This way, no money is taken from existing projects.

A stadium in Short Pump will work as long as Henrico County maintains firm control of the facility's use and cuts favorable deals with the minor-league tenants.

Stadiums can provide revenue streams and can pay for themselves. But the locality that builds the stadium must make sure it keeps the cash instead of giving it to the baseball team in a sweetheart contract.

Putting a stadium in Shockoe Bottom is a nice idea, but there are too many hurdles to clear. And a baseball stadium is not what Richmond needs.

One argument for a Shockoe Bottom stadium is it will bring people, and their dollars, to the area 70-80 times a year.

That's nice, but Richmond needs young families to move within city limits and stay.

When deciding where to live, most parents look first at the schools their children will attend, not whether minor-league baseball is played in a downtown stadium.

Richmond needs stronger schools, not an 8,500-seat stadium with a nice berm.

Short Pump and Henrico County can handle a stadium. Let the ground-breaking begin.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or