RICHMOND, Va. — The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League's Executive Director William Forrester Jr. says a promise of support tied to Richmond's Diamond District development has gone unfulfilled.
The MJBL was founded in part by Forrester's father so his son and friends would have a place to play in a still-segregated baseball community in the 1960s. Forrester has spent decades building the organization and growing the game among Richmond's African-American community. His latest initiative created an elementary school baseball program throughout Richmond Public Schools.
Watch: How William Forrester Jr. grew a Richmond baseball legacy
The MJBL is a non-profit, and Forrester has built relationships with sponsors and benefactors — including the Richmond Flying Squirrels — to keep the organization running. When the original developers of what would become the Diamond District project approached him about support, he said it felt like a meaningful opportunity.
"I knew the name Thalheimers, which really meant a lot when you talked about equity and fairness and a quality product, they were a member of this team, so it made sense," Forrester said.
A 2022 proposal by RVA Diamond Partners stated they would "fund and provide all the essentials to make this league a success...such as equipment....jerseys...coaches and umpires" among other provisions.
"It was going to be huge. We would have an annual budget in place to fund youth baseball at the grassroots level, getting them started, and you could see the potential there," Forrester said.
The MJBL launched a tee ball program with the Police Athletic League and Richmond Parks and Recreation to demonstrate to potential investors how it would use their support.
Over the next three years, a series of events and changes reshuffled the development team behind what is now the Diamond District project. Forrester said he was asked to be patient as those changes were sorted out — but that patience was never rewarded.
"When we contacted them, we get a letter back and say, oh, I guess you didn't know, we are now Diamond District partners, things have changed, and if you want support for baseball, youth baseball, you need to talk to the Squirrels," Forrester said.
In December, Forrester received an email from the new development team that read in part: "Diamond District Partners, LLC ('DDP') is working on the development of the area surrounding the new ballpark" and "We cannot speak to other community benefit obligations that may be associated with the development of the ballpark, such as its support of baseball programs in the greater Richmond community or of MJBL, specifically. We would invite you to reach out to the ballpark's development team and the Squirrels directly should you desire to partner with them to support the MJBL."
Forrester said the Flying Squirrels have been a consistent partner, but that the burden of support should not fall entirely on them.
"The Squirrels have helped us all along. You couldn't ask for a better partner here," Forrester said. "I can't keep going back to the squirrels. It's not their responsibility."
"It would be good if you know a brand name that we've known since growing up, Thalheimers, would actually step up and, and do something toward what the initial commitment was on the proposal that won the contract through the city," Forrester said.
Diamond District Partners, LLC provided CBS 6 the following statement:
We respect Mr. Forrester and the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League’s (MJBL) work to support youth baseball in the City. When we last communicated with Mr. Forrester in December, we explained that neither Diamond District Partners (DDP), Thalhimer, nor any individual personally associated with our company has entered into—or verbally committed to—any financial agreement to support the league. Mr. Forrester responded at the time thanking us for the explanation, said he understood the situation and wished us happy holidays- we considered the matter resolved (a copy of which has been provided to WTVR). DDP remains in full compliance with the community benefits provisions of our development agreement with the City and EDA (where there is no mention of funding for MJBL or youth baseball), which is understandable since DDP has not been involved in the development of CarMax Park.
Despite the setback, Forrester said the MJBL is not giving up.
"We're optimistic that we will find a way, and we've been here 60 years, so it shows that we're resilient ... we're not going to let the kids down," Forrester said.
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