RMA calls plan to transform The Diamond intriguing
Opening Day Partners
The $28 million plan for transforming the Diamond on N. Boulevard includes removing the upper deck and wrapping the stadium in a brick facade.
POLISHING THE DIAMOND
• News release from Opening Day Partners
• Plan details
READ ARCHIVE OF BASEBALL IN RICHMOND
The chairman of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority's board of directors and the RMA's general manager said yesterday that they find a $28 million transformation plan for The Diamond intriguing and worthy of evaluation.
James L. Jenkins, the chairman, and Mike Berry, the GM, added that they also find the Opening Day Partners proposal somewhat familiar. The RMA, which owns and operates The Diamond, and the Atlanta Braves seemed set in 2004 to proceed with a major facility renovation that Berry now sees as comparable in some respects to the $28 million plan ODP released yesterday.
"The Opening Day Partners proposal incorporates many of the major design features that we looked at starting back in 2002," Berry said. "They anticipate a year-round use and went beyond what the Braves and RMA considered back in 2002, but a lot of the major features were incorporated. That consistency between the two is probably good."
The city, which is served by the RMA along with Chesterfield and Henrico counties, continues to study the $318 million Shockoe Center proposal, which includes a $60 million ballpark, but Jenkins said he long has believed that "the most practical thing to do, the most cost-effective, is to renovate the existing facility. . . . I think that location is certainly the most convenient for the entire metropolitan region."
A copy of the latest proposal has been forwarded to Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones' administration, but it has not made a decision on how it will be reviewed, said Tammy D. Hawley, Jones' press secretary. The city administration expects to receive this week a final report from the consultants who studied the financial viability of Shockoe Center.
The $18.5 million renovation of The Diamond that was scheduled to begin in September 2004 was derailed by the Braves' choice to explore a downtown ballpark option. Those plans faded with financing concerns. The Diamond's renovation essentially was limited to the installation of a new playing surface after the 2004 season at a cost of $418,000.
Peter Kirk, ODP's chairman, said he isn't prepared to discuss financing details for the $28 million transformation of The Diamond until he knows what franchise under what ownership group will be the facility's top tenant.
He stressed that ODP believes club owners should pay a significant amount of construction, operating and maintenance costs. Kirk said he hoped to meet with city officials and RMA representatives.
ODP's transformation plan for The Diamond has been ready for months, according to Kirk, who said he believes "Richmond has the potential to be in the top 10 percent or 15 percent of all minor-league teams."
But Kirk said introducing the concept while the city was in its early phase of studying the Shockoe Center proposal "would have just further complicated a difficult situation. We just kept it until we thought the appropriate time would be, and we think that's now.
"It's clear that a [Shockoe Bottom ballpark] is not an entirely dead issue, but it's going to be a very difficult project to bring to fruition as planned. Now I think is a good time to look at the alternatives."
A spokesman for Shockoe Center declined to respond.
The transformation proposal includes removal of The Diamond's upper deck; a club level; a reconfigured lower deck; and year-round use of some stadium components, such as a conference center. The stadium, with capacity reduced from 12,134 to 8,500, could be used for concerts and other activities.
No other group released a recent renovation plan for The Diamond, and ODP believes it has found a way to address Richmond's ballpark issue at a reasonable price.
While the city continues to study the Shockoe Center proposal, Berry said, the RMA has been "doing everything we can to at least achieve our short-term objective, and that is to bring a team to The Diamond until we can figure out the longer-term answer.
"What kind of ultimate decision or partnership will exist between folks [in regard to a new ballpark], that's a chapter yet to be written."
ODP's proposal states that the transformation could be completed for next season. For that to happen, Kirk said construction must start by Aug. 1.
"I would say that would be a very, very optimistic schedule. I'm not suggesting that [Aug. 1] is a deadline, but that is feasible," Kirk said.
Berry recognized ODP as a well-regarded firm in the baseball industry. ODP has been involved with stadium design, construction and operation in more than a dozen communities, many in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Kirk, 62 and a 25-year veteran of the baseball business, is the former owner/operator of Baltimore Orioles farm clubs. He now owns and operates four franchises in the independent Atlantic League.
He reiterated Monday that the Atlantic League would like to place an expansion team in Richmond next season. The Double-A Eastern League has pledged an undetermined franchise with undetermined ownership for Richmond next season.
"Richmond is a great market," Berry said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have so many people knocking on our door."
Chesterfield County Administrator James J.L. Stegmaier said he's encouraged by the interest in providing professional baseball for the region but expects city officials to determine how and when the latest proposal is considered.
"I would definitely defer to the city in terms of what they think is the best approach," he said. "All these locations are in the city."
Henrico County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett could not be reached.
Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or
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Staff writer Will Jones contributed to this report.
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Reader Reactions
I no longer give a hoot whether a stadium is renovated nor built and don’t care where. The one thing I do care about is developers asking taxpayers to foot the bill for their risky venture-capitalist ideas. I’m so tired of hearing about baseball that I’m over it. I’m done. Completely done. If I need a baseball fix, I’ll go to a local high school or little league game where it’s about sport, and not about how much some developer can get you to spend on parking, meals, admissions, overpriced concessions and souvenirs that nobody needs.
**cough cough** the Shockoe ballpark costs $60 million, not $318 **cough**
It sounds like some people understand the principles of investment - the pricetag is not the only thing to consider here, its also the potential ceiling of the benefits. The same can be said of baseball prospects, interestingly enough.
Worst case scenario, we build the stadium in Shockoe, the private development doesn’t happen…who says the city is obligated to take on all of the private development? It is very hard to accept the theory that a stadium in the bottom would attract zero development in that area.
Also, could someone explain how you’re suppose to maintain an acceptable baseball playing surface if its used as an ice skating rink during the winter months?
welpee: there is a $28 million dollar risk and there is a $360 million dollar risk.
Gee - wonder where we should roll the dice with our TAX dollars.
Could someone please give examples of public and/or private development projects that were guaranteed to be successful and carried no risk? People in Baltimore could’ve dug up examples to make the case that Camden Yards may not work.
Heck, even renovating the Diamond (which so many are so fond of) carries risk. I would rather roll the dice on an innovative idea that MAY inject some new life to this city than invest in an area with so little potential.
Oh, yes, ddub…I fully understand we have already gone further down that road than we should have.
That’s why I said, “reverse the tide,“ meaning it’s been done already, but can be rehabbed if done properly.
Yes, Chesterfield & Short Pump are ridiculous. Wouldn’t live in either of these locales if you paid me to do so. That’s one of the main reasons I left Florida…to get away from garbage like that.
But it’s not going to get any better if we keep focusing on the counties. Time for the old lady (Richmond) to get the attention she deserves.
baron - have you not been in the counties in the last 10 years? Richmond already is a sprawl town… Maybe not to the extent of cities in FL or Phoenix, but Short Dump and Chesterfield are already boring, suburban cookie-cutter neighborhoods.
Suburban sprawl has been the death of too many once great American cities (including Richmond).
Why not reverse the tide?
I moved here from Florida where there is no such thing as a truly great city. All the HUGE metro areas are HUGE because the sprawl has simply met up with other sprawl from all directions. It’s a nightmare, and a colossal hassle. Traffic, overcrowding, and ZERO personality. I do not miss it. But, Richmond won’t be far behind if we keep it up.
BUILD UP / RESTORE DOWNTOWN BEFORE WE BECOME ANOTHER SUBURBIA-SPRAWL TOWN.
Instead of pointing to 1 failure, we could try pointing to all the successful ballparks - like Durham, Toledo (this one is especially great), Trenton, Norfolk, Greensboro, Dayton, Corpus Christi, Louisville, and Memphis (go ahead and bring up the articles re: Memphis, they still had over 550k in attendance last year).
Quoted from an article on downtown, urban ballparks: “If you put a stadium in the right place the benefits are phenomenal; if you put it in the wrong place it’s a colossal waste of money.“
To put it in context, this sentance appeared at a point where the author was speaking of turning urban areas into entertainment zones to stop the spread into suburbia. Therefore, by “the right place” they are referring to the place in which the “entertainment zone” can be maximized.
ddub 28: Excellent post. This is exactly what I (and others) have been trying to explain to the Bottom lovers - that this whole Shockoe Center proposal hinges on the things for which there is no guarantee. The developer, RBC, and city officials have yet to identify one single private investor who has made a firm committment to this project. They don’t exist! Heck - even the state is too smart to commit to loaning them the use of a parking deck.
In this economy there is no way all of these “promised” offices and businesses are going to materialize to generate tax revenue to pay for this thing. And what happens when the money doesn’t flow from private sources? TAXPAYERS foot the bill. Not to mention that the Bottom is the worst location possble because the infrastructure improvements needed to turn a flood plain into a viable location are astronomical.
Once and for all - NO BASEBALL IN THE BOTTOM!
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