Richmond Sports

[wrldcoupe4]

5% chance

[marinog711]

Thats enough chance for me to hold out hope.. LOL!

[eandslee]

Whoa, Henrico County stepping up plans to capitalize on sports tourism!  Wow!  Check it out:

https://www.henricocitizen.com/articles/290m-mixed-use-proposal-would-remake-belmont-lakeside/

 

[eandslee]

So speaking of sport tourism, the Richmond Region Tourism has hired a consultant to develop a master plan for the area in an effort to bring the area up to the next level as a sports tourism destination!  If a good plan is followed, I can envision Richmond becoming a sports tourism destination for sports organizations across the country!  This could be huge for the region.  This is a good way for Richmond to become a destination for something other than history.  As a result, I can envision more companies wanting to locate here, the airport getting busier, more entertainment venues popping up to give visitors something more to do, and of course, an overall economic boost for the area.  Check out this RTD article here:

https://www.richmond.com/business/local/richmond-region-tourism-developing-a-master-plan-to-serve-as/article_117ef18f-5d2c-5e12-b402-aa2bbecb69cf.html

edit:  BTW, the Flying Squirrels will be hosting the the annual All-Star game next summer which will be a 4-day event that will celebrate the Richmond region.  What do you know...anther sports tourism event that will draw many people to Richmond from across the country!

https://wtvr.com/2018/10/23/flying-squirrels-announce-all-star-plans-and-logo/

Edited October 24, 2018 by eandslee

[Henrico Weather]

On 7/13/2018 at 1:39 PM, RVAbigdawg said:

If we get an NBA team, that would be pretty cool!  They should be called the Richmond......................

"Galloping Eeyors"

 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Henrico Weather

[Shakman]

Dominion Donkeys

[Downtowner]

Wonder what this would mean for the Squirrels?

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27874510/reports-mlb-proposes-overhaul-minor-leagues-elimination-40-teams

 

[Urbs42]

On 10/19/2019 at 6:00 PM, Downtowner said:

Wonder what this would mean for the Squirrels?

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27874510/reports-mlb-proposes-overhaul-minor-leagues-elimination-40-teams

 

My uneducated guess is that the Flying Squirrels will land on their feet as long as a new stadium happens. The market here is just too big for MLB to let it go. 

Seems a near certainty though that we will get contracted by another MLB team that is a better geographical fit than the Giants. 

[wrldcoupe4]

No kidding. Our season attendance topped 400k #23 in attendance for minor leagues, beating out several AAA teams. 

[HRVT]

4 hours ago, Urbs42 said:

My uneducated guess is that the Flying Squirrels will land on their feet as long as a new stadium happens. The market here is just too big for MLB to let it go. 

Seems a near certainty though that we will get contracted by another MLB team that is a better geographical fit than the Giants. 

Agreed... Richmond has nothing to worry about here. Danville and Burlington (NC) on the other hand look prime for the chopping block.

[cbl1]

Sounds like we could get shuffled affiliation from a West Coast team to someone closer.

[Wahoo 07]

15 hours ago, cbl1 said:

Sounds like we could get shuffled affiliation from a West Coast team to someone closer.

If they were smart, they would make Richmond the Nats' AAA franchise.

[cbl1]

Question then becomes are we too close …. like Atlanta now is with Gwinnett (and Gwinnett having no one show up for games).   Actually they improved a little this year but still poor https://www.ajc.com/news/local/gwinnett-stripers-attendance-rate-increases-for-first-time-since-2011/aTYqomNXubVuqEtRxni9eO/

article does talk about challenges having teams close to each other.

Would we be better off with Baltimore or Philadelphia etc. where there is some space between clubs.

I guess if done well it is possible to drive attendance to both venues.

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by cbl1

[wrldcoupe4]

I think the biggest thing is that we want to retain the Squirrels ownership locally. They have made lemonade out of lemons at the Diamond and would really excel in a new facility. They are great operators and I wouldn't want to be stuck with a poor operator.

[Wahoo 07]

On 10/22/2019 at 9:25 AM, cbl1 said:

Question then becomes are we too close …. like Atlanta now is with Gwinnett (and Gwinnett having no one show up for games).   Actually they improved a little this year but still poor https://www.ajc.com/news/local/gwinnett-stripers-attendance-rate-increases-for-first-time-since-2011/aTYqomNXubVuqEtRxni9eO/

article does talk about challenges having teams close to each other.

Would we be better off with Baltimore or Philadelphia etc. where there is some space between clubs.

I guess if done well it is possible to drive attendance to both venues.

 

It is a specious comparison.  Gwinnett is part of metro Atlanta and both the Braves and the Gwinnett Stripers play on the northern arch of the suburbs (30 miles apart).  Richmond and DC are two hours apart on a  good day.  That is plenty of distance.  

If the Nats want to build a strong regional fanbase, they should focus on Virginia, West Virginia, and eastern Carolina.  

[eandslee]

Apparently, there is an announcement Monday morning in front of the Coliseum at 1100 with the Mayor and representatives from NH...in relation to the future of hockey in Richmond.  Looks like there is a team coming if the arena gets built.  Since this was about a sport, I decided to put this here instead of the arena thread.  

I know a lot of hockey fans will be elated!!

Edited January 26, 2020 by eandslee

[wrldcoupe4]

Interesting. There was talk at one point they may not have a sports tenant. Hopefully it’s at a decent level. 

[Downtowner]

I would love to see an ahl team here in Richmond just right below the nhl level that would bring some awesome hockey. My guess is it’s an echl team which is pretty much double a hockey but still affiliated within an nhl team. Just the lowest tier affiliated with an nhl team. It’s the same thing Norfolk has. But man if we can get an ahl team that would make me really happy.


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[wrldcoupe4]

To tie in with the Caps would be a big benefit. Tom Farrell sits on the Greater Washington Partnership board with Ted Leonsis...

[Downtowner]

To tie in with the Caps would be a big benefit. Tom Farrell sits on the Greater Washington Partnership board with Ted Leonsis...

Yes as much as I’d love that I don’t see there ahl team leaving Hershey unless they change the affiliate with them and give us caps affiliate. My guess it could be there team the south Carolina stingrays who are the caps echl team. So who knows we will just have to wait and find out on Monday.


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[eandslee]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

To tie in with the Caps would be a big benefit. Tom Farrell sits on the Greater Washington Partnership board with Ted Leonsis...

One can only hope!  Anxious to see what the announcement actually is. 

[wrldcoupe4]

Seems that ECHL is committing to relocating a team to Richmond if Navy Hill happens.

[eandslee]

51 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Seems that ECHL is committing to relocating a team to Richmond if Navy Hill happens.

Rumor I heard was that it will be the CAPS AA team. Not sure how true that is though. This is another feather in the NH cap. Hope it passes!

[wrldcoupe4]

Their AA is based in Charleston SC. Apparently they have relatively new ownership and good attendance there. I was thinking the same thing until I researched those items.

[rjp212]

Here's the RTD article about it.  Unfortunately, I've reached my max views for the month and cannot read it. 

https://www.richmond.com/sports/plus/a-new-minor-league-hockey-team-plans-to-play-in/article_6df558b8-0aec-5b60-8cdf-1ea99a23bf6a.html