Identification of Richmond’s next baseball franchise possible this week

About 18 months after the Atlanta Braves announced they were relocating their Class AAA franchise to Gwinnett County, Ga., Richmond could acquire a new professional baseball franchise this week.

Eastern League President Joe McEacharn set Saturday, Aug. 1 as the deadline for identification of which of the league's 12 Class AA franchises will relocate to Richmond next season.

McEacharn said Friday that the Eastern League "is working toward" an announcement this week, though none had been scheduled. Several sources identified the Connecticut Defenders, contractually bound to the San Francisco Giants through 2010, as the team moving to Richmond.

Minor League Baseball and the Eastern League have not confirmed that and asked involved parties not to comment publicly until the relocation has been finalized.

"Aug. 1 is not our [deadline], so we are just going to follow our own internal processes," Scott Poley, Minor League Baseball's vice president for legal affairs, said Friday. "Aug. 1 is not a magic date."

For marketing, ticket-sales promotion and other reasons related to the 2010 season, McEacharn said Richmond's new franchise would greatly benefit by being in business by Aug. 1.

LOCAL OWNERSHIP: Though Minor League Baseball and the Eastern League hoped Richmond's new club would have majority local ownership, Richmond Baseball Club LC failed to raise the $15.4 million sale price of the Connecticut franchise. Connecticut's president/managing partner, Lou DiBella, is expected to remain with the franchise, with very limited or no local participation in the ownership group now.

"Due to Richmond Baseball [Club LC] not being able to complete their transaction, we've had to put that element on hold, simply from a timing standpoint," McEacharn said of local ownership.

"It's something we still recognize as important and we think very beneficial not only in the market but to the franchise and the league. We encourage it. I guess we could go as far as to say once we get our feet on the ground, we fully anticipate exploring that avenue and trying to make something happen."

Local participation in ownership would help the franchise gain corporate sponsorships and also could provide momentum for moving forward the agenda for a new ballpark.

DOUBLE DUTY: The new Richmond franchise, once it has been named, will work on two fronts for the rest of this season, according to McEacharn. It will continue to promote and operate the club in its current locale and also begin building a fan base and corporate support in Richmond through ticket sales, marketing, and a name-the-team contest.

"We feel as though the Richmond community is just ripe for a family entertainment baseball product," McEacharn said. "Whoever from the Eastern League ends up there I think is going to bring a business model and an entertainment product that is going to be something quite different than what the market has ever seen before.

"We fully anticipate that it will be embraced. I expect it to exceed our expectations right from the get-go."

THE PRODUCT: McEacharn projects a "strong management team" to run the franchise. Sources said Chuck Domino, president of the Class AA Reading franchise and Class AAA Lehigh Valley franchise, will be heavily involved with the Richmond franchise. Domino has worked in professional baseball for 27 years. Former Class AA Altoona General Manager Todd Parnell, who has been in the baseball industry for 20 years, may also be involved.

"The [combination of] on-field product and the entertainment aspect of minor-league baseball has changed over the last 15 years into what it's become today," McEacharn said. "We look at the demographics of the [Richmond] market compared to what our industry caters to. It's right in line with very strong demographics in our categories. And the product we're going to put on the field is proven to be successful everywhere."

THE BALLPARK: For at least two years, the club will play at The Diamond, though Minor League Baseball officials and McEacharn have repeatedly stressed that the facility on the Boulevard is not a long-term solution in its current state. Once the ownership group is identified, it will upgrade The Diamond for short-term use along with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which owns and operates the stadium.

The franchise will invest at least $1 million in The Diamond, said McEacharn. The RMA was prepared to spend $75,500 on upgrades in its agreement with Richmond Baseball Club LC. "We have not entered into a contract or negotiation with somebody else at this point," said Mike Berry, the RMA general manager.

He chose not to speculate on how much will be spent to improve The Diamond for two or three seasons of use. "That's really a call that will have to be made by the team that's coming in there," Berry said. "They would have to make a determination as to what will be necessary for them to best accommodate fans and the team."

CLEAN SLATE: City and county officials will begin discussing a long-term ballpark solution with the franchise ownership group soon after that group is introduced, according to McEacharn. Minor League Baseball and the Eastern League have no site preference at this time for a stadium, though McEacharn supported the Shockoe Center proposal and its $60 million ballpark. Developers suspended that plan.

"I think with all that's gone on in Richmond over the years, rather than get locked in and get adversarial or controversial, we want to come down with a clean slate and say 'We're going to partner with you,'" McEacharn said. "This is not going to be a one-sided deal. It's going to be a partnership, and we know that going in.

"The idea of what's the best site is purely subjective. It's in the eyes of the beholder. We look for a good site. A good site will work. Could we have made it work in Shockoe Bottom? We feel we certainly could have. Can it work at The Diamond? It has worked there before."

COMPETITIVE LEVEL: Richmond was the New York Yankees' Class AAA outpost before becoming Atlanta's Class AAA affiliate in 1966. McEacharn said he does not worry about speculation that Richmond will one day again be home to a Class AAA franchise. Once Richmond-area residents are exposed to Class AA and the Eastern League, they will appreciate that level of baseball and remain committed to it, he believes.

"Our team will not only be playing on the field, but they will be actively involved in the community," McEacharn said. "We fully expect to be in hospitals, with church groups, in schools, in reading programs. We fully expect that in a very short time people will come to look at us not only as entertainment, but as a community asset.

"We plan to give more than we take."

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