New team owners promise Diamond improvements

The sign outside The Diamond still proclaims "Home of the Richmond Braves," but Richmond and its 24-year-old stadium will have a new professional baseball team beginning next spring.

After months of delays, the long-anticipated relocation of the Class AA Connecticut Defenders was announced yesterday by regional and team officials who gathered at The Diamond in front of a banner that read, "Play Ball!"

"We're here to say baseball is back," Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said.

Richmond has been without pro baseball since the Class AAA Richmond Braves moved to a new $64 million stadium in Gwinnett County, Ga., after the 2008 season.

The Atlanta Braves severed their 43-year relationship with Richmond after growing frustrated by the outdated condition of The Diamond and the lack of progress on a long-term stadium plan.

Though there's still no plan or even a timetable to get one, owners of the Defenders franchise said they're ecstatic to come to Richmond and plan to spend at least $1.5 million to upgrade The Diamond by opening day in April.

The work will include about 3,200 new flip-up seats with cup-holders in the lower level; a new video board and new windows on the corporate suites and press box; and a new team store and player amenities.

The Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which owns The Diamond, will contribute $75,000 toward general improvements.

"For the time being, this is our home," said Lou DiBella, the team's president and managing general partner. "We're going to treat it like your home. We're going to do what's necessary to bring it up to the appropriate grade."

He and other team executives promised a clean stadium and a brand of minor-league baseball that's focused on fun for everyone. The team, which is affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, lost the Eastern League's championship series last weekend to the Akron Aeros.

The team will play at The Diamond through at least 2011 and likely longer. The RMA is expected to approve Tuesday a two-year lease that would include options for three one-year extensions.

Jones said the lease would provide a timetable for the city, the surrounding counties and the team to figure out a long-term stadium plan, either at the site of The Diamond or elsewhere.

"I think we need to do due diligence," he said. "It gives us an opportunity to step back and do this right."

Last fall, Highwoods Properties submitted to the city a proposal to build a ballpark as part of a mixed-use development in Shockoe Bottom, but that plan was withdrawn this summer. Highwoods had been working with a group of local investors who were attempting to buy the Defenders franchise.

DiBella said his ownership group is relocating to Richmond "with a long-term view," and he emphasized that a decision about a new or improved stadium would be made cooperatively by the team, local officials and the community.

"Don't focus on the lease," he urged a reporter. "We're going to make this place the best it can be."

Given the sagging economy, any talks about a new or renovated stadium will have to take a backseat to other, more-pressing local needs, Henrico County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett said.

"With the economy the way it is, we don't know how long they may have to play at The Diamond," he said. And glancing up at the massive concrete stadium, Hazelett quipped, "I think it looks fantastic."

Minor League Baseball returns to Richmond

Sources say Eastern League will announce that Defenders are Richmond-bound

An announcement of which Class AA Eastern League franchise is relocating to Richmond for next season will be made a week from today, sources said. Industry insiders identified Connecticut as the franchise on the move.

Richmond's new club will play at The Diamond for a minimum of two years while team owners and officials from the city and neighboring counties discuss a new ballpark. The franchise now in Connecticut is contractually bound to the San Francisco Giants through 2010.

Eastern League President Joe McEacharn yesterday chose not to reveal which franchise is moving. He also did not confirm the date of an announcement. McEacharn previously stated that one of the league's franchises would be based in Richmond starting next season. Yesterday, he said an announcement regarding Richmond's franchise would be made by the end of the month.

Minor League Baseball and the Eastern League have asked involved parties not to publicly discuss the relocation until the announcement is made.

The Connecticut franchise is owned by a partnership led by Lou DiBella. He is expected to be the Richmond franchise's managing partner. An industry veteran, believed to be Chuck Domino, will supervise the team's operations. This season, Domino was president of two franchises, Class AAA Lehigh Valley and Class AA Reading.

The Connecticut franchise was identified by Minor League Baseball as a candidate for relocation to Richmond soon after the Atlanta Braves announced in January of 2008 that their Class AAA franchise was headed to Gwinnett County, Ga., where the club played this season.

A potential local ownership group, Richmond Baseball Club LC, failed in its bid to purchase the Connecticut franchise due to lack of funds.

To Minor League Baseball, ownership groups of several Eastern League franchises expressed interest in relocating to Richmond. Minor League Baseball and the Eastern League selected Connecticut. That franchise in recent years has been at or near the bottom of the Eastern League in home attendance.

The new franchise will spend a minimum of $1 million to upgrade The Diamond for short-term use, according to McEacharn. The Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which owns and operates The Diamond, also is expected to invest in the facility on the Boulevard.

This year was Richmond's first without professional baseball since 1965. The Braves' move was caused primarily by that organization's dissatisfaction with The Diamond, which opened in 1985, and the lack of a firm plan for a new ballpark.

The Connecticut Defenders are involved in the Eastern League's best-of-five championship series, against Akron. Connecticut made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, when it was an affiliate of the New York Yankees and called the Norwich Navigators.

McEacharn said the timing of an announcement regarding Richmond is unrelated to the Eastern League playoffs

Connecticut first in division, last in EL attendance

Heading into the final weekend of minor-league baseball's regular season, Connecticut has wrapped up the Eastern League Northern Division championship. But the Defenders are last among 12 league clubs in attendance.

Connecticut, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, is the Class AA franchise expected to relocate to Richmond next season. An announcement is expected next week.

Entering this weekend's activity, the Defenders were 81-56 but averaging 2,966 fans at Dodd Stadium. The Eastern League regular season closes Monday, and playoffs begin Wednesday. Connecticut will meet either Trenton or New Britain in a best-of-five series. The Eastern League championship series also is best-of-five.

The Connecticut franchise hadn't made the playoffs since 2002, when it was affiliated with the New York Yankees and called the Norwich Navigators. The Defenders' first-year manager is Steve Decker, a former Giants' catcher. The Connecticut franchise and the Giants have been linked since 2003 and are contractually bound through next season.

The Gwinnett Braves, the Class AAA International League affiliate that relocated from Richmond, also seems headed to the postseason, though the G-Braves hadn't clinched a spot before last night's games. Gwinnett ranks 13th among 14 IL clubs in home attendance (5,783).