Richmond Sports

[ejones]

wasnt sure where to post this but i think it fits in here just fine. big news about the Diamond area and the Coliseum

Wilder, Kaine discuss a swap-

Va., Richmond trading sites could pave way for arena near Diamond:

www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-07-04-0143.html

[jbjust]

Best news I've heard in a while on that front. That location makes so much sense for an event/sports mecca since the roads in and out of there have got to be about the best in the region.

Edited July 4, 2007 by jbjust

[burt]

Best news I've heard in a while on that front. That location makes so much sense for an event/sports mecca since the roades in and out of there have got to be about the best in the region.

Absolutely! And think what it could mean for expansion of the Biotech Park downtown on the Coliseum site...and perhaps, even the Blues Armory.

[burt]

wasnt sure where to post this but i think it fits in here just fine. big news about the Diamond area and the Coliseum

Wilder, Kaine discuss a swap-

Va., Richmond trading sites could pave way for arena near Diamond:

www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-07-04-0143.html

Actually, this site is outside the sports complex area. It's on the east side of Hermitage Road about opposite Sports Backers Stadium, I think. It is an industrial area which could provide lots of parking, IMO.

And that neat Dog/Cat Hotel is just a few blocks away; why not one for humans, too? The Ham factory that was turned into condo or apts fairly recently is just up the street, and another new residential conversion is nearby.

BowTie's 16 Movieland screens are about to get underway at Leigh and North Boulevard (see Richmond Econ/Biz/Real Estate thread.)

There is tremendous potential here, and I believe it would behoove neighboring counties to back the proposal. An 18,000+ seat arena just might attract a major league basketball franchise, but we could be sure it would entice collegiate final fours, etc. as well as major music concerts.

The downtown Coliseum site, according to Mr. Trani of VCU, would be an invaluable property for expansion of Biotech Park or related uses (maybe a hotel connected to Convention Center expansion).

Edited July 4, 2007 by burt

[burt]

If you look very hard on the InRich sports page today you'll see under the heading of Independence Day Celebrations that the RBraves will play the Syracuse Chiefs tonight and toimorrow night at the Diamond. Both games will be followed by fireworks, and I believe, but cannot verify, that tonight's game is sold out with the possibility of some seat availability for Thursday.

InRich operates in strange, scattered and uninformative ways when it comes to baseball coverage, IMO.

[Downtowner]

This news is the best news I have heard in a while. I am so excited for this. I think this area is a great place for a sports mecca as well. I hope too we can attract a NHL or NBA Team one day. Plus this arena im sure won't be too far from I-95. The site for The Coliseum Id like to see as a site for adding onto the skyline. Possibly fill in a gap between the Monroe and where the James Center is. But this is great news.

[Cadeho]

New arena... great news... the demolition of the Coliseum is good news... bad news losing a giant entertainment site downtown. And no the Carpenter Center and National are not enough.

[majors2410]

Building the coliseum out of downtown is a huge mistake. Conventions use the coliseum. It will really hurt the hotels and existing and future restaurants. The site they are talking about will only be assesable by car, NO walking. Very bad idea. It will have to have ugly surface parking all around it. They need to build on the site of the existing parking deck then build a new deck where the coliseum is. I cant believe this is even being considered.

Edited July 4, 2007 by majors2410

[jbjust]

I wasn't aware that conventions used the Coliseum after the new Convention Center was finished. Can you be more specific about what conventions have used the Coliseum?

[Cadeho]

The Jehovah Witness Convention is using the Coliseum now. They dropped off leaflets...

[eandslee]

I have to agree that this is all great news, but it appears that there is just "talk" going on. This is better than what was going on before, which was nothing. I'm sure it would be a few to several years from now before any ground was broken on such an arena, but it does need to happen sooner rather than later. If Richmond could land an arena like the JPJ Arena in C'ville, then I can see a major league sports team possibly wanted to park in Richmond. A very nice thought indeed. Additionally, I was thinking that the downtown area would likely spread toward the Richmond Sports Complex (that's what I'll name it) in the future as well!

[burt]

The Jehovah Witness Convention is using the Coliseum now. They dropped off leaflets...

I don't know of any other groups that book conventions in the Coliseum. Virtually all other conventions go into the GRCC across the street. I have read that most J/W attendees are from within driving distance of Richmond (they're held regionally in various East coast cities). I doubt it would affect downtown hotel occupancy in a major way if J/W had to move their meeting into another venue.

March Madness basketball does fill hotels and that would be a loss to downtown, but I'd sacrifice it in a NY minute for a state of the art facility at the Diamond if it could accommodate upward of 18,000. Such an arena would attract many more events to the city resulting in more occupied hotel rooms all over the area, incliuding downtown less than a mile away.

And just possibly, suburbanites could access The Sports Complex via rail. CSX main line is the southern boundary. By the time an arena, new ball park, natatorium and tennis facilities are built, CSX will have improved the track for higher speed access to Main Street Station. Travelers from as far away as Williamsburg, Petersburg/Ft. Lee and Fredericksburg could arrive and leave on commuter trains (VRE?) at a new station within walking distance.

Edited July 4, 2007 by burt

[majors2410]

They have the breakout meetings n the convention center and use the coliseum for meetings of all attendees. A state of the art coliseum can be built downtown. It would be a huge mistake to not rebuild downtown. It needs to be in a pedestrian environment. Anything else is repeating the many mistakes that have been made previously.

[burt]

They have the breakout meetings n the convention center and use the coliseum for meetings of all attendees. A state of the art coliseum can be built downtown. It would be a huge mistake to not rebuild downtown. It needs to be in a pedestrian environment. Anything else is repeating the many mistakes that have been made previously.

Majors, I am certainly a defender of downtown entertainment venues and wish a state of the art arena could replace the Coliseum, but it is financially unlikely at its present site. Even if it were possible, there would be at least two years without any kind of arena while demolition and construction were underway.

An immense sports/entertainment complex containing ballpark, soccer field, natatorium, VCU tennis facility, cinemas, residential, softball fields, an arena AND plenty of parking is pretty spectacular. In fact, I can't off the top of my head name a similar facility.

I keep trying to rationalize what the loss of the Coliseum would do to downtown's resurgence. There is no question that it would mean a loss of hockey, circus, truck-pull, wrestling matches and occasional concerts, but how many of those attendees drop money at nearby restaurants, bars and hotels? I do not believe that it will, in a major way, affect hotel occupancy.

And then again, it's not like the complex will be in the boonies

Will a new replacement structure housing workers balance dollar loss into downtown amenities, or increase spending?

I agree. It does give me pause. But I envision a large arena competing for business with other cities putting Richmond on a new and much higher sports/entertainment level.

[majors2410]

Thats fine we have to agree to disagree. You can tear down the parking deck across the street and build there and then build another parking deck on the existing site. I think it would be too big a loss for downtown. But at least we all care about downtown.

[Cadeho]

It would be a loss for downtown and they can spend money at that site.

[burt]

It would seem that work on a ballpark replacement, or reconstruction of the present one, is a matter of some urgency between the localities and the ABraves.

If new sports/entertainment facilities were to be constructed with support from the entire Metro area by the sale of bonds, Mayor Wilder better start his pitch soon.

[Icetera]

Wow, I am kind of torn on this. I really hate to see the coliseum moved from downtown, as I foresee it directly hurting the revitalization in the immediate area, and feel it is appropriate to have located near the convention center and the current hotels. I also fear how the Biotech Park would develop the site. I do think that the sports/entertainment complex would be a better draw for the city and surrounding region as a whole, though, and believe that it could lead to a stronger build up between downtown and Boulevard. This complex would really add to the validity of light rail along the Broad St. corridor. Perhaps if Blues Armory was renovated into a symphony hall, or such, so to draw traffic to the area still, and the old coliseum site was developed appropriately, this move could turn out to be a truely wonderful thing. I would suspect that Marriot and Hilton will lobby against this move.

Side Note: Hilton has been bought out by a company that intends to greatly improve the hotel line.

[journiyin]

Wow, I am kind of torn on this. I really hate to see the coliseum moved from downtown, as I foresee it directly hurting the revitalization in the immediate area, and feel it is appropriate to have located near the convention center and the current hotels. I also fear how the Biotech Park would develop the site. I do think that the sports/entertainment complex would be a better draw for the city and surrounding region as a whole, though, and believe that it could lead to a stronger build up between downtown and Boulevard. This complex would really add to the validity of light rail along the Broad St. corridor. Perhaps if Blues Armory was renovated into a symphony hall, or such, so to draw traffic to the area still, and the old coliseum site was developed appropriately, this move could turn out to be a truely wonderful thing. I would suspect that Marriot and Hilton will lobby against this move.

Side Note: Hilton has been bought out by a company that intends to greatly improve the hotel line.

Since there is limited space to expand or renovate the current structure, I feel moving it is the best option... with a light rail connection as a must have. I wouldnt agree with the BioTech park getting the space also, there is no need for that. A couple of 6-10 story buildings in a nice mixed use and office layout would greatly spur on development on this side of town, and also serve as another visual enhancement north of Broad downtown. Such a project would also revitalize the Armory and its associated food court, whatever that ends up becoming. I dont mind riding a train to a hockey game once a week and walking to a nice place to eat two blocks away as opposed to the 12 I have to walk now to get to the bottom.

Guess it is time to go into the developing business and make it happen right?

[Icetera]

Since there is limited space to expand or renovate the current structure, I feel moving it is the best option... with a light rail connection as a must have. I wouldnt agree with the BioTech park getting the space also, there is no need for that. A couple of 6-10 story buildings in a nice mixed use and office layout would greatly spur on development on this side of town, and also serve as another visual enhancement north of Broad downtown. Such a project would also revitalize the Armory and its associated food court, whatever that ends up becoming. I dont mind riding a train to a hockey game once a week and walking to a nice place to eat two blocks away as opposed to the 12 I have to walk now to get to the bottom.

Guess it is time to go into the developing business and make it happen right?

Need a partner?

[wrldcoupe4]

or two?

[journiyin]

or two?

Sure, we just need a money guy now.

[Cadeho]

Burt?

[burt]

Burt?

Sure, guys. How much do you want? Old Daddy Warbucks would be happy to help out. Would a quarter help?

[journiyin]

Sure, guys. How much do you want? Old Daddy Warbucks would be happy to help out. Would a quarter help?

Yeah a quarter of a billion ought to about do it...