As EDA told Squirrels to vacate Diamond, officials gave VCU the option for new lease
Richmond’s Economic Development Authority could end up with two ballparks leased to two different baseball teams amid an ongoing feud over the Diamond District development project.
Last month, the EDA told the Richmond Flying Squirrels the team could no longer use The Diamond for overflow storage after the minor-league team moved to the new CarMax Park. The EDA said it was changing locks on the old stadium and would consider it trespassing for any Squirrels personnel to try to enter The Diamond after this Friday.
In a letter sent to VCU the same day, the EDA gave the university the option of entering a new lease for continued use of The Diamond. On Tuesday, a VCU spokesperson indicated in a statement that the university plans to take that offer.
“We fully expect to play next season's games at The Diamond as we continue to work with all parties to secure VCU Baseball's long-term home,” said VCU spokesman Michael Porter.
The new lease would presumably be a backup plan if VCU and the Squirrels owners continue to be unable to reach a deal to have both teams play at the new, publicly financed ballpark.
Officials announced a tentative deal for shared use of CarMax Park last October, but the plan apparently fell through due to disagreements over cost-sharing terms. In January, the Squirrels announced they were cutting off talks with VCU, leaving the school in a sort of limbo between the old and new stadiums.
Michael Phillips
Both Sept. 21 letters from EDA Director Angie Rodgers started the same way, informing the Squirrels and VCU that they no longer had any legal rights to access The Diamond because prior deals had expired with the completion and opening of CarMax Park.
Squirrels owner Lou DiBella has filed lawsuits against the EDA and Thalhimer Realty Partners developer Jason Guillot over disputes related to the Diamond District. In an internal staff memo, a team executive said the order to vacate The Diamond was “clearly retaliatory for legal steps the organization has taken to protect its business interests.”
Graham Moomaw
While the Squirrels were effectively told to clear out, the EDA offered a new lease to VCU “for whatever additional period you might need it.”
What that lease might entail isn’t clear from the letter, but the EDA said it should address “priority and coordination for VCU home games, practices and events” as well as “a defined description of the spaces VCU will occupy year-round, the spaces it will use seasonally and shared or common areas.”
The EDA proposed a “rent or use fee” along with shared utility costs.
“A lease conveying an interest in EDA-owned property will require approval by both the EDA Board and Richmond City Council,” Rodgers wrote in the letter addressed to VCU Athletics Director Ed McLaughlin. “That process takes significant time, and we want VCU to be able to plan its facility needs around that timeline.”
City officials have characterized the letters as a way to tie up loose legal ends with The Diamond as part of the transition to CarMax Park. In an interview with WRIC earlier this month, Mayor Danny Avula said the two entities essentially got “the same notice” to “vacate the premises.”
The bottom lines in the two letters were substantially different. While the Squirrels were told to clear out by Friday, Rodgers asked VCU officials to send a response by Friday about their interest in a new lease “so that we can begin the EDA Board and City Council approval process without a gap in VCU’s use of the facility.”
City spokesperson Michael Hinkle said the directive to the Squirrels was less about the planned future demolition of The Diamond and more about “the lease agreement, liability coverage and ensuring the responsible management of a publicly owned asset.”
The Squirrels felt the city’s letter falsely implied the team was improperly using The Diamond even though the EDA had previously given the team permission to keep using it for storage. Hinkle acknowledged the EDA had an informal agreement with the team, but said the Squirrels were “aware that the continued use would need to come to an end once they began to occupy the new ballpark.”
The nature of the relationship between the EDA and the Squirrels over the last few months, Hinkle said, “requires clear, formal communication.”
“The tone in the letter is meant to clearly communicate purpose,” Hinkle said in an email.
The city has told the Squirrels to resume negotiations with VCU about a cost-sharing arrangement to allow the university team to play at CarMax Park.
The EDA’s letter to VCU indicated the new lease for The Diamond would only be necessary until VCU can begin playing at CarMax Park.
Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org. VCU is a sponsor of The Richmonder, but was not allowed to influence or review this story. Read our editorial policy here.
