Richmond Developments

[burt]

Personally I wish the Braves had already left... they're taking their sweet old time while we need to be having serious discussions to set up a new team here, which we can't do until the Braves say so.

The latest speculation is that a franchise in the California League might wish to join Class A Carolina league and possibly expand to Richmond.

Instead of playing cities such as Louisville, Indianapolis, and Buffalo, fans willl be able to go out to the ball game and boo Lynchburg, Woodbridge and Salem.

[Downtowner]

Actually the team in woodbridge isnt called woodbridge they are called the Potomac Nationals but its in Woodbridge. I wouldnt mind this level of A ball since its the highest level of A ball and if its only temporary untill we get back to AAA then let it happen. But I would still like to see AA untill we get back into AAA. There are so many leagues in the minors its not even funny. But the higher you go the more teams are in your league. As long as its not Rancho Cucamonga I will be happy cause I hate the fair weather fans of Anaheim CA.

[theFFXcounty]

not to cut anyone off, but I live in nova and was just trying to get any info on any richmond highrises that may be planned or approved down youre way. also, what is that thing they are building next to the federal reserve tower? will it be tall?

[wrldcoupe4]

Why do you ask?

That is the new corporate headquarters for MeadWestvaco... it should be about 10 stories tall and total 300,000 SF.

Centennial Tower, a 30-story mixed use high-rise is planned, and work should begin soon on a 15-story highrise which will be anchored by the law firm Williams Mullen.

And while not new highrises, the CNB tower (23-stories) and the John Marshall Hotel (15-floors) have adaptive re-use plans in the works.

[Henry]

Centennial is not gonna happen. I have heard that they are shopping the site.

As fas as the baseball, I hope we are patient and wait for Triple AAA. Playing in the Carolina League would really depress me.

[Shakman]

Centennial is not gonna happen. I have heard that they are shopping the site.

...

Where did you hear that from? Your "reliable" source?

Edited August 19, 2008 by Shakman

[wrldcoupe4]

Well, I wouldn't bet any money against him, that's for sure. I've been saying this sucker has been a goner for months. Can't really build something like this with no financing, no hotel, no office tenants, no retailers, and a terrible housing market. The best thing going for it at this point was the parking.

[burt]

Where did you hear that from? Your "reliable" source?

Henry has some very reliable inside sources, as does Wrldcoupe4.

FFX, thanks for posting. Do you have any inside info about possible high rise projects in Richmond?

And Henry, I share your sentiments about triple A baseball for Richmond.

[burt]

There is a review of Springsteen's concert in today's inRich. It was written by Daniel Neman who, while still in awe of The Boss, complained about sound quality at the old Coliseum. The place was packed to capacity and about three pages of reader's opinions regarding Neman's coverage follow the inRich review.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainmen...08-19-0164.html

It is far past time for a modern, large replacement arena in Richmond. If the present building were demolished would the site accommodate a new larger building? I believe it would. However, entertainment facilities generally book at least three years in advance. Thus, it would be a long procedure before demo and fast-track construction could begin. Also, The Segal Center at 7,500 capacity could not accommodate ice shows, the circus, et cetera even if it had available dates. The larger Robins Center (9,000+ capacity) is not an option due to its campus location.

Would the remaining tract at Foundry Park next to Mead WestVaco be a practical site for a downtown replacement arena?

Edited August 19, 2008 by burt

[Shakman]

Henry has some very reliable inside sources, as does Wrldcoupe4.

FFX, thanks for posting. Do you have any inside info about possible high rise projects in Richmond?

And Henry, I share your sentiments about triple A baseball for Richmond.

I was by no means trying to be sarcastic, just curious.

Edited August 19, 2008 by Shakman

[burt]

I was by no means trying to be sarcastic, just curious.

Shak, you have an inside track on construction activity throughout the area. Have you been hearing anything relative to Centennial? How about the proposed state office building on the old Murphy Hotel site? About 18 developers have submitted plans to the General Assembly which, I believe, is to be taken up for approval or disapproval in the next legislative session. All the talk about slashes in the state budget has me worried.

I have an uneasy feeling that we may be in store for more contractions in the construction/residential scene downtown. What's your opinion?

[Downtowner]

I went to the Springsteen concert las night and I tell you what Bruce puts on a great show but the sound system did sound kinda fuzzy not to mention that the staff there didnt do a very good job with cleaning the floors while people where buying food,drinks and beer. I saw a guy slip and fall and hit the ground hard from a huge wet spot on the floor where someone had spilled there beer and it even got on me since I was right in front of him when he fell and I couldnt help but almost laughing. I also saw a guy eating a bucket of popcorn while urinating in the urinals. But I really think we need to put the Coliseum out of its misery and start fresh cause I saw some cracks in the floor while I was there on the upper level. But Bruce put on and awesome show. We parked on a surface lot that costed us $8 compared to the deck across the street that was $16 to park. The surface lot was kinda diagonal from the new Phillip Morris Research Center. But overall a very entertaining conert.

[D_C]

Daniel Neman, like a lot of us older Deadheads, has been complaining about the sound at the Coliseum since 1985. There is nothing like seeing an excellent band perform a stellar concert, only to be minimized by piss-poor sound quality.

I have seen all kinds of different types of music at the coliseum and one thing always remains the same; the sound sucks in that place! It would be a shame to see it go though, in a way. My parents dragged me to see Elvis there in the 1970's. In my opinion, the coliseum carries too much bass and the vocals are always muddied by the distorted mid-range and highs that are cranked to counter the oppressive bass.

Edited August 20, 2008 by D_C

[Cadeho]

Oh no! Not a crack in the floor! A guy eating popcorn while urinating is talented, not trouble. And you could have parked for free... I don't know why you insist on paying then complaining about it.

[burt]

Will a new ballpark be on The Boulevard or next to Main Street Station?

Mayor Wilder will announce proposals soon.

From tonight's inRich:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...09-22-0259.html

[Cadeho]

If Shockoe Bottom is chosen, I hope the outfield isn't facing Broad so that we won't have balls hitting cars. But I still would love to see a stadium at the foot of the Manchester Bridge facing the skyline.

[burt]

If Shockoe Bottom is chosen, I hope the outfield isn't facing Broad so that we won't have balls hitting cars. But I still would love to see a stadium at the foot of the Manchester Bridge facing the skyline.

A stadium, wherever its located, would not face the setting sun. So if it were in Manchester, wouldn't it have to be angled slightly askew of the skyline? Same goes for The Bottom, I guess.

[burt]

The Mayor presented proposals last night at City Council about possible developments on North Boulevard and in Shockoe Bottom.

From today's inRich:

http://www.inrich.com/content/cva/ric/news...09-23-0124.html

[burt]

Former Richmond City Manager, Robert Bobb, is advancing a North Boulevard plan for the parcel on which The Diamond is located. It may or may not include a baseball team.

From today's inRich:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...09-27-0105.html

Can someone explain what Peter Kirk means by this line?

"Our proposal states that we have been offered a TRIPLE A-LEVEL franchise in The Atlantic League for play beginning in 2009."

[eandslee]

Can someone explain what Peter Kirk means by this line?

"Our proposal states that we have been offered a TRIPLE A-LEVEL franchise in The Atlantic League for play beginning in 2009."

Yeah, I was confused by that line too. From what I thought, there were no triple-A teams looking to move - so, how can he say that?....unless there are some things we don't know about....

[Cadeho]

Anyone can change their minds with the right deal.

You know, had the Braves not been in such a rush, they would have still gotten a new stadium. Nothing happens on the time table you want. Patience is a virtue.

[burt]

Yeah, I was confused by that line too. From what I thought, there were no triple-A teams looking to move - so, how can he say that?....unless there are some things we don't know about....

The Atlantic League from my understanding does not have any major league affiliation. Aren't all its players independent contractors without professional connections?

Since the inRich story to which eandslee and I are referring is on the previous page, I've brought it here for clarification:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...09-27-0105.html

Edited September 27, 2008 by burt

[Richmond98]

Centennial is not gonna happen. I have heard that they are shopping the site.

As fas as the baseball, I hope we are patient and wait for Triple AAA. Playing in the Carolina League would really depress me.

I will never understand peoples obsession with AAA baseball over AA or A league ball. The majority of the talent is in class AA and A ball not AAA. Most of the players in AAA are career minor leaguers and potential major league bench players. Sure occasionally a major league star comes down for a rehab assignment but they go to AA just as frequently as they rehab in AAA. Sure a prospect usually goes through AAA before they get called up to the majors, but the best prospects usualluy spend the majority of time in AA and only a short period in AAA before the call up.

I grew up in New England and have lived here in Richmond for over 14 years now, including college. As a diehard Red Sox fan I will you them as an example. If you look at the Red Sox farm system, now considered one of the top 5 in baseball, you will see that the best prospects are in AA and A. Of their top 40 prospects, only 3 played in AAA Pawtucket (only 1 in the top 20) at the end of this year. Portland (AA) had 11 of 40 or 5 of top 10, Lancaster (High A) had 7 of top 40, Greenville (Low A) had 7 of top 40, and Lowell (Short Season A) had 12 of the top 40.

AA baseball could be the best thing to happen to this city, as long as it is the right team. Richmond needs either a team from a great franchise (Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, etc.) or one with a close proximity to Richmond (Washington or Baltimore). Last year the Red Sox bought the High A team in Salem, VA with plans to move from Lancaster to Salem. As much as I would prefer a AA team that would have been good for Richmond. A team with such a huge fanbase is what we need. Look at Richmond's attendance, not just this year but in year's past. The most attended games are usually against Pawtucket and Scanton (Yankees).

Look no further than the success with their Greenville affiliate in Low A class ball. They built a beautiful new stadium, that if you haven't seen you should really check it out, I went for a few games this year. They are breaking every attendance record at that level. In three seasons they have had over 1MM in attendance. The stadium has capacity of about 5,700 (4,500 seats) and they had over 5,000 per game this past season. Greenville is much smaller than Richmond so you could easily double those numbers in Rochmond if you have a nice facility, in a good location, and a good franchise.

Here is a quick quote from an recent article:

Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive and our single-A baseball team, has set attendance records for each of the last three years since the new stadium was built. This year it averaged an attendance of 5,000 per game and it has only about 4500 seats! Many of the fans sit in the grassy field off the third base line and at the bar area down the third base line. There's plenty of activity around the playground area too. Since the stadium went into the West End of downtown Greenville three years ago, the economically beleaguered area has really taken off and the values of Greenville SC real estate have risen dramatically. The Field House behind left field is a popular condominium complex that features balconies overlooking the baseball field. Nearby, Pendleton West with its Charleston style homes has sold well too.

[burt]

Indeed, you may be correct about the actual farm talent in lower leagues as opposed to Triple A. But if Richmond is reduced to playing teams in towns such as Salem, Lynchburg and Greenville, after mid-sized cities such as Columbus, Indianapolis, Norfolk and Buffalo have been the norm, it would be more than a minor prestige blow.

What's more, until about three seasons ago, The RBraves attracted 1 million+ spectators in only two consecutive seasons as opposed to Greenville doing the same in 3 years. RBraves retained its attendance rating among International League cities in second or third place for years before the decline set in. Disillusionment with The Diamond facility is the most likely culprit.

Snatching, by whatever means, the National's top farm club from Columbus to play in a spanking new ballpark would seem a practical aim for Richmond's future, IMO.

[burt]

The National economic situation may affect local projects.

From today's inRich:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...10-01-0047.html