The Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which owns the Diamond, and the Eastern League of Minor League Baseball are holding a joint news conference tomorrow at the Boulevard stadium.
The announcement of a new team is expected. The Double A Connecticut Defenders, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, were close to being bought this year by a group of Richmond investors. That deal fell apart because plans for a new stadium in Shockoe Bottom never solidified and some of the investors got cold feet.
But it looks as though they are coming here anyway.
According to several media sources, the Defenders will most likely be the team at the Diamond, but league president Joe McEacharn has not officially confirmed which team it will be and that several of the teams within the league expressed interest.
The city was left without a minor league team when the Richmond Braves left last year for Gwinnet County, Ga.
McEacharn has said the new team will invest about a $1 million in upgrading the stadium and will explore proposals for a new stadium in the near future.
Coincidentally, the giant Native American statue installed at the Diamond is named “Connecticut.”
Check back tomorrow for the full story.
Good news. I said it before- the Diamond’s best days are still ahead!
Let’s hope the new owners are smart enough to realize that the Diamond and Boulevard location is a long term failure, and that to succeed in the region, a new location is needed. One million dollars worth of lipstick is not going to fix what’s wrong with that pig.
http://lifeinthe804.blogspot.com/2009/09/richmonds-biggest-pig-to-get-new-coat.html