Dear Greater Richmond Community,
When the Flying Squirrels arrived in Richmond nearly six years ago, we inherited the shell of a hulking stadium in disrepair and were promised a new ballpark on the horizon.
We invested over two million dollars to renovate the Diamond, making it more satisfactory for baseball and your enjoyment. We hired a stellar management team and assembled a first class staff. The Squirrels immediately began to forge relationships with baseball fans, the business community, local officials, leaders within the schools and universities, and with civic and charitable organizations. We quickly became a good neighbor and dependable partner.
As years passed, we worked to secure our ties to you. Parney, Nutzy, and our organization have reached out to the community on a daily basis, both in season and out. We've continued to invest significant dollars to improve an antiquated Diamond for our fans. Flying Squirrels Charities was established and is presently renovating youth baseball fields in the inner city of Richmond.
Over the past six years, countless meetings have taken place with the Mayor, the City's Chief Administrative Officers, City staffers, County officials, governmental agencies, public relations firms, concerned citizens, and more.
Early discussions centered on a Boulevard site near the existing Diamond, with the Squirrels sharing the costs of a new stadium with City and County jurisdictions. These discussions stalled and hit a dead end when the participation of the Counties appeared unlikely. The City and Squirrels continued to talk about the same site, with a plan to share equally in stadium costs. When the City asked us to consider Shockoe Bottom as an alternate site, we agreed in the spirit of cooperation. In November 2013, we stood next to the Mayor when we announced that a new stadium would be built in the Bottom.
While plans for a redevelopment of the Bottom that included a new ballpark slowed and screeched to a halt, the Squirrels watched how quickly the Redskins Training Center was funded and built. The Redskins train in Richmond for approximately three weeks a year. We attended a press conference announcing that Richmond would host the World Cycling Championship. While a great event, it is hosted in a different international city every year.
We also saw how speedily the City Council approved the Stone Brewing project, which included $23 million in bond funding. We have patiently awaited our turn, believing that baseball was not lured back to Richmond under false pretenses. A state of the art minor league stadium is needed to meet the standards and needs of Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, and today's baseball fan. Unfortunately, it seems that the vigor of attracting something new to Richmond takes precedence over a genuine, good faith commitment to keep what is already working here.
The Braves left town when a new stadium appeared a pipe dream. The Diamond has not become less obsolete, more structurally sound, or more user-friendly since the Squirrels arrived. Our investment of money, time, and effort, the success that we have worked so hard to achieve, and the loyalty and support of the greatest fans a team could have, do not render the Diamond a suitable long-term home for baseball.
The Squirrels are operating at the Diamond with a precariously short-term lease which expires at the end of the 2016 season. Not only is our future uncertain, but efforts toward consensus have been replaced by political paralysis by analysis. Constructive debate has devolved into rancor and finger pointing. No development of Shockoe Bottom which includes a new ballpark is presently planned, nor is a new stadium discussed as part of the redevelopment of the 60-acre Boulevard property.
In the May 30 Times-Dispatch article "What does hospital news mean for Richmond's baseball debate?" Councilman Baliles said: "at some point the city decided to go it alone and use only public money to fund the stadium."
The Squirrels have always offered to stand shoulder to shoulder with the region in bearing our share of the expenses of a new stadium. This was the case when discussions involved the City and Counties. It remained the case after the Counties' inertia effectively ended regional discussions and the City stepped up. These critical points are absent from all Council members' comments in the article referenced above.
Regional efforts are called for as if they are a new idea and were never previously pursued. The "burden" of a new baseball facility is often cited without any mention of the benefits that the Squirrels bring both economically and as part of the social and cultural fabric of the Greater Richmond Community. There is absolutely no recognition that the Diamond is not a viable long-term option as the home for the Richmond Flying Squirrels or Minor League Baseball.
The Flying Squirrels belong in Greater Richmond. For our part, the Squirrels can only continue to do what we do: work hard and hope for the best. We are eager to sit down with anyone that is willing to tell us how we fit into the long term plans of this City and the surrounding Counties. It is our greatest desire to have the Flying Squirrels continue our vital role in your quality of life for years to come. Are we any kind of priority to the powers that be in this region? There needs to be a timely and meaningful consensus with respect to a new stadium and the future of baseball in Greater Richmond.
Sincerely,
Lou DiBella, President and Managing General Partner, Richmond Flying Squirrels
