Baseball group nears completion of deal to buy team

An Eastern League official says the development envisioned for Shockoe Bottom has worked in other minor-league cities.

By: By JOHN O'CONNOR Times-Dispatch Staff Writer | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: May 13, 2009

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Richmond Baseball Club LC will close a deal to acquire the Class AA Connecticut Defenders any day now, according to Eastern League President Joe McEacharn and Bryan Bostic, RBC’s chairman, and will do so without a firm plan for a new ballpark here.

The Defenders, contractually bound to be a San Francisco Giants’ affiliate through next season, will continue this season based in Norwich, Conn., then relocate to The Diamond next season, even without a firm plan for a new Richmond ballpark. Minor League Baseball officials previously expressed reluctance to approve the franchise’s relocation without such a plan for a new ballpark.

But McEacharn said the Eastern League and Minor League Baseball have worked “in lock step” on the Richmond situation and will approve the relocation following the purchase of the Defenders by RBC.

"I do not expect the long-term stadium issue to come to a head and be resolved in time for us to include that in our process,” said McEacharn, who visited Richmond early this week. The Eastern League needs to make a decision regarding Richmond’s status for next season by August. The $318-million Shockoe Center proposal, with its $60-million ballpark, continues to be studied by the city, with no timetable for a resolution.

“From the business perspective and player-development perspective, from a community-impact perspective, I think it’s fair to say we’re excited about the potential for the Shockoe Bottom site and what that could do,” McEacharn said. “We’ve seen it work in so many other places. But there are issues to be worked out. We fully understand that.

“We want to do everything possible to create a public-private partnership that works for everybody. We’re going to work together to resolve it, and we’re confident we will be able to do that.”

The Diamond is where Richmond’s new Class AA team will play for at least the next two seasons. According to McEacharn, Minor League Baseball and the Eastern League are not proceeding with the understanding that the Shockoe Center proposal will be approved by the city.

“We’re not going to assume anything, other than we will have a site at The Diamond,” he said. “The team is going to make some necessary improvements to satisfy our player needs, satisfy their business needs, and we’re comfortable with the condition of the field and the lights and whatnot.

“Again, we’ll reiterate, it’s not a long-term solution.”

Richmond may be at risk of losing the Class AA franchise, Minor League Baseball officials have suggested, without a long-term ballpark solution. But it appears near certain that Richmond will have another professional baseball franchise starting next season following the closing of the deal that’s projected to be worth about $15 million.

“We believe it is imminent,” Bostic said of the purchase. “We have obviously had hurdles along the way. That has prolonged the process. But the goals are the same, and we plan on reaching those goals very shortly.”

Not having a long-term ballpark solution at this time “is not going to preclude us from acquiring a team and having it play in Richmond,” Bostic said.

McEacharn said Eastern League owners are energized about the addition of Richmond, which will be the southernmost outpost in the 12-team league. McEacharn said one owner of an EL franchise told him “Richmond certainly has the potential to be the crown jewel of the Eastern League.”

The Eastern League now includes Akron, Ohio, Altoona, Pa., Binghamton, N.Y., Bowie, Md., Connecticut, Erie, Pa., Harrisburg, Pa., New Britain, Conn., New Hampshire, Portland, Maine, Reading, Pa., and Trenton, N.J.