RICHMOND, Va. -- Construction of a new baseball stadium in Richmond is closer to the reality than it has been in decades after Richmond City Council passed a new funding structure for the Diamond District project. The $110 million stadium project would bring a state-of-the-art baseball stadium to the area near the existing, dilapidated Diamond, where the Flying Squirrels currently play.
The City of Richmond will issue/back $170 million in general obligation bonds to fund a new baseball stadium and the immediate infrastructure around the ballpark. Richmond will issue the bonds to pay for the new stadium, and a newly formed Community Development Authority (CDA) will issue $40 million in bonds with the city's backing for infrastructure costs.
“Let’s play ball," said council member Ann-Frances Lambert just before the vote.
Tax revenue from just the stadium portion of the Diamond District plan will go toward paying off the debt of the bonds, instead of the revenue from the entire development under previous plans.
Both the success of the Flying Squirrels and the continued development of nearby Scott's Addition gave city leaders confidence the funding structure would succeed.
Using this fund structure saves the project more than $200 million over 30 years by securing a much better interest rate with the backing of the city behind the bonds, officials said.
This vote gets shovels in the ground by as early next month on a new stadium, which officials said will help meet Major League Baseball’s timeline to get the Flying Squirrel facilities up to standard. Failing to do so may have resulted in losing the team, and MLB already extended the deadline for Richmond to the 2026 season.
However, if the project doesn’t live up to financial projections, city taxpayers could eventually be on the hook for paying off the bonds.
Critics say in a city with so many generational needs — from schools to roads to housing — exposing the city to a financial risk of this magnitude should be put to voters directly — not just the city council.
These calls echo similar pushback by advocacy groups and taxpayers across the country when local governments help foot the bill for new stadiums for privately owned professional sports teams.
“It is more of a risk for the city. It feels like a calculated, conservative risk," said council president Kristen Nye.
Opponents of Richmond's planned funding structure also point out the city sped this new plan through without allowing the public to fully vet it.
Previously, Richmond CAO Lincoln Saunders said the city's financial advisers brought the possibility of the new funding structure to them in February 2024.
Saunders said the Squirrels continued attendance success — regularly drawing yearly attendance figures near the top of Minor League Baseball — and the nature of the real estate market near Scott's Addition gives the city confidence revenues from phase one of the project will pay off the bonds.
During a public comment period, one resident spoke out against the funding structure, saying residents didn't have enough time to give their input and said public confidence that the city will benefit from the project is low, citing the failed Training Facility built for the NFL's Washington Commanders.
"Public confidence in our city leaders is not the highest it’s ever been," said Jennifer Yates. "I’m concerned to see this go through without additional input.”
A dozen people spoke out in favor of the project, most of them from trade unions and businesses that stand to benefit from the Diamond District construction. Residents called the project "transformational" for the city and will finally give the Flying Squirrels a permanent home.
“I’m ecstatic for the opportunity. It’s going to provide good paying jobs and training," said Grace Washington, a local business owner.
"The refinancing makes so much sense, it really is a good thing. For y’all to save a couple hundred million dollars is not insignificant," said John Easter with Chamber RVA.
All six city council members in attendance at Wednesday's meeting voted in favor of the paper. Council members Stephanie Lynch, Reva Trammell, and Nicole Jones were not in attendance. The papers required only five members to vote in favor of it to pass.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney celebrated the move, saying the overall Diamond District Development will be the biggest development deal in the city's history.
"I'm elated," Stoney said. "You think about the Flying Squirrels and them having the best attendance in AA baseball, and you think about Scotts Addition; you put those two powerful forces together, and you get a great project that reduces the risk necessary to move forward.”
Saunders previously said the city plans to issue the bonds in June and that construction would begin shortly after that. Getting the project moving by then would give construction teams time to finish the new stadium by Opening Day 2026, Saunders said.
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