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
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