For about 20 months, Richmond's baseball situation was a front-burner item for Pat O'Conner, the president and CEO of Minor League Baseball.
O'Conner worked to determine what level of professional baseball and what franchise would move into Richmond, and sorted through ownership options, after the Atlanta Braves announced in January 2008 that their Triple-A franchise would shift in 2009 to Gwinnett County, Ga.
A group of local investors, Richmond Baseball Club LC, was approved by Minor League Baseball to purchase the Double-A Connecticut Defenders. That $15.4 million deal failed to mature because of lack of RBC resources. O'Conner said Minor League Baseball has re-examined its evaluation process of potential ownership groups based on that experience.
The Defenders ultimately relocated to Richmond, but with the existing ownership group. O'Conner attended a Richmond Flying Squirrels game Friday.
. . .
Q: Is there a specific reason for your visit, or is this just a courtesy call?
A: The reason I came to Richmond was to go to Virginia State University and attend a sports symposium. I was able to kill two birds with one stone, come in and see this operation and visit with [the Squirrels' management team of Chuck Domino and Todd Parnell]."
Q: Speaking of Chuck Domino and Todd Parnell, could you give Richmond your opinion of those two?
A: "You've got a couple of gems. You've got two of our better operators, working on one project. You add [General Manager Bill] Papierniak and the staff, the people they've brought with them, I think you've got one of the better operations in Minor League Baseball right here in Richmond."
Q: Could you share your feelings on baseball being back in Richmond?
A: "We're excited. We've always liked the market. We think that the future here is very bright."
Q: What do you think Richmond will do about its stadium issue?
A: "I think you need a new [ballpark]. When you tour The Diamond, [Squirrels management has] gotten about as much out of this as you can. But there are just some aspects to this that you can't overcome. In its day, [The Diamond] was state of the art, cutting edge. 'In its day' was 30 years ago. That's no one's fault. Time marches on and waits for no one. I think the long-term future of baseball in Richmond is still in a new building."
Q: Speaking of the long-term future, do you foresee a return to Triple-A baseball in this market?
A: "Not any time soon, simply because of availability. It's just a matter of there are 30 [Triple-A franchises] and I don't have anybody that's [interested in moving]."
Q: Do you have a sense if Richmond will remain affiliated with the San Francisco Giants when the player-development contract expires at the end of this season?
A: "This is a very good, solid, fun relationship right now. Both sides are extremely happy with what's going on. As you know, there is a process [minor-league franchises can't speak with major-league organizations until late in the season] . . . There is this shift to regional affiliation. But what you have here in the Giants is [an organization] that's producing great talent and an operation here that's probably less dependent on affiliation than most, simply because it will create its own fun."
Q: Could you elaborate on that point?
A: "During [2009], we talked about the baseball that was going to come back to Richmond, and it was going to be a little different than the baseball Richmond had. That's not a value statement on either one. But it was going to be different. The difference makes it less reliant on who the parent club is. It's the Richmond Flying Squirrels, not a farm team of . . . That's very much a secondary thought now."
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