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eandslee

By eandslee
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eandslee
eandslee

Looks like progress toward a new baseball stadium for VCU and the Flying Squirrels is going well, according to the article below. There is even the possibility of a new stadium ready by the 2023 seaso

eandslee
eandslee

Apparently, there is an announcement Monday morning in front of the Coliseum at 1100 with the Mayor and representatives from NH...in relation to the future of hockey in Richmond.  Looks like there is

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Cadeho City

Cadeho

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Tuned in already.

Just to add to yesterday's pictures. I took a few in a drive by...

http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c236/RVaPics3/?action=view&current=101_7599.jpg

http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c236/RVaPics3/?action=view&current=101_7601.jpg

http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c236/RVaPics3/?action=view&current=101_7602.jpg

http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c236/RVaPics3/?action=view&current=101_7603.jpg

http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c236/RVaPics3/?action=view&current=101_7606.jpg

I had an error... You are not allowed to use that image extension on this board. Photobucket's not allowed anymore?

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540_804 Whistle-Stop

540_804

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No city wants, or should tolerate, rioting in its streets.

But this video represents excessive policing. The mere presence of City and State lawmen dressed in black with riot gear and tear gas cannisters was unwise in the extreme, IMO.

http://vimeo.com/21868232

I agree 100% with you on this one.

Here's what I just posed on the RTD website, about 5 minutes ago:

As a current, graduating VCU student I will say first and foremost that I am absolutely proud of the VCU Rams who played with courage and heart and represented our city and school with pride. I am also very proud of the vast majority of VCU students who took to the streets to celebrate the success of the school and team, despite the loss to Butler.

While I was/am troubled by the action of a very small percentage of the revelers, I am equally troubled by the actions and OVERreaction of some of the law enforcement. (As a disclaimer, I have the utmost respect for our officers; in fact my brother is a police officer within the US Military and I am very proud of him). VCU police and Richmond City police, I believer, acted responsibly and appropriately last night. They pretty much contained the crowd to certain areas, but otherwise just supervised, only moving in when necessary (for instance, one girl apparently passed out or was injured and the RPD came in to remove her from the scene).

On the other hand, I'm not so sure the Virginia State Police, who showed their force in full riot gear, armored trucks, and a huge white armored bus sporting gun turret holes like something out of the Middle East.

One incident that comes to mind (an incident alluded to in the news story above) occurred at the corner of Laurel and Franklin. To put this into context, this was apart from and after the excitement on Broad and Laurel had died down. The crowd was pretty much dispersed save for, what I would estimate about 200 students. There were students sitting in the plaza in front of Rhoads and Brandt hall, as well as students in the street in front of Johnson hall and some at the edge of Monroe Park.

As the VSP moved south on Laurel into the intersection, in full riot suppression mode, a voice over the loudspeaker said "Please return to your dorms or chemical agents will be deployed." There was a bit of milling around but people began slowly, but surely leaving the area. The trouble (in my mind) comes with what happened next. As students began walking through Monroe Park (not a lot of students, maybe 10 at most), presumably to get to the dorms on the other part of campus, the VSP launched 2 or 3 canisters of "chemical agent" (I would assume tear gas) into Monroe Park.

Why? Why launch something into the park when the students are leaving? Why was tear gas deployed at all? Was the crowd of students that intimidating? Of course there were a handful of people (students and non students) acting disorderly, but they were pretty easily identified. They were the same group acting disorderly the whole night. When the VSP moved the troublemakers out of one area into another, they just caused problems there. Why not just arrest the trouble makers instead of gassing the entire crowd?

Earlier in the night, I had the misfortune of experiencing tear gas for the first and hopefully last time in my life. At the corner of Grace and Laurel, students had gathered, most just partying (there was music blasting on outdoor speakers from a nearby business...I think Sahara's). Unfortunately, about 5 or 6 idiots decide to throw small rocks (the kind used for landscaping) at the Virginia State Police officer's riot shields. The VSP decides to deploy tear gas at the crowd. I was not in the crowd. I was actually about 100 yards east of the crowd on Grace, just watching. Unfortunately, it was quite breezy last night so the gas completely missed the intended target and us bystanders got a face full of the stuff. I can say that it definitely works as a crowd dispersant tactic, because at that moment I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

Otherwise, it was a pretty fun night, and most of the crowd behaved themselves very well. :thumbsup:

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Now that all the hoopla surrounding The VCU Rams is subsiding, it's time to welcome another sporting event to the City: Nutzy, Zinger and The Flying Squirrels open their double A baseball season tomorrow at The Diamond.

There'll be lots of fireworks and expanded activities this year at the ballpark.

From today's Richmond dot com:

http://www2.richmond...-now-ar-952088/

Edited by burt
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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Virginia Beach has received an offer by the company which built Yankee Stadium. It wants to erect a 22,000-seat arena near that's city's Convention Center at a cost of about $350 million.

If you want more info, go to the Virginia Beach forum on Urban Planet and see the WAVY video under the Virginia Beach Development topic posted today by BFG.

Edited by burt
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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Virginia Beach has received an offer by the company which built Yankee Stadium. It wants to erect a 22,000-seat arena near that's city's Convention Center at a cost of about $350 million.

If you want more info, go to the Virginia Beach forum on Urban Planet and see the WAVY video under the Virginia Beach Development topic posted today by BFG.

Last night, the Virginia Beach City Council rejected the offer by a company called Drakkar America to build a large arena near the oceanfront.

Drakkar's website lists about three projects on the planning boards for Virginia, although exact locations are "confidential."

Could the City of Richmond be negotiating with the company for a Coliseum replacement?

From today's Virginian Pilot:

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/04/arena-proposal-nixed-virginia-beach

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Richmond is bidding for something approaching Olympic proportions. A local delegation headed by Mayor Jones is in Geneva laying out the city's hopes to host a World cycling 9-day event in 2015 which could bring half a million visitors to Central Virginia.

If I interpret the story correctly. the list of hopeful localities has dwindled to two -- the City of Richmond and Oman on the Arabian Peninsula.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/news/2011/may/09/tdmain01-for-richmond-a-lot-rides-on-bid-ar-1025372/

Edited by burt
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540_804 Whistle-Stop

540_804

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Posted (edited)

Richmond is bidding for something approaching Olympic proportions. A local delegation headed by Mayor Jones is in Geneva laying out the city's hopes to host a World cycling 9-day event in 2015 which could bring half a million visitors to Central Virginia.

If I interpret the story correctly. the list of hopeful localities has dwindled to two -- the City of Richmond and Oman on the Arabian Peninsula.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/news/2011/may/09/tdmain01-for-richmond-a-lot-rides-on-bid-ar-1025372/

I think two things could work very favorable for Richmond and Virginia.

  1. Climate: Richmond's climate is generally more temperate than Oman's. This may not seem like a huge deal, but sporting events like these are often very mindful about the conditions that the athletes are subjected to. If you recall, in late 2010, a US swimmer died of exhaustian while competing in the UAE which is adjacent to Oman. Many swimmers complained of the high temperatures. After that rather high-profile event, competition organizers may be hesitant to stage another such event in an environment that many would consider relatively extreme.
  2. Political/social stability: Don't get me wrong, OMAN is one of the most politically, socially and economically stable countries in the region. But with the increased social and political unrest in the Middle East, some of the decision makers may find it difficult to predict the conditions that may be in place in 2015 when the event is set to occur. While Oman is considered stable, Richmond would certainly be a safer pick in that regards.

But of course, this is only my opinion. We can only sit back, watch and wait. I'm hopeful, though.

Edited by 540_804
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eandslee City

eandslee

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As of late, I have noticed an increase in articles regarding the need for Richmond to build a new arena. Here are a few links to some of those articles:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/may/17/3/mikes-take-stadium-on-the-canal-walk-11792-vi-27167/

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/may/16/tdmain01-biotech-park-forced-to-grow-in-new-direct-ar-1041278/

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/may/13/williams-richmond-gets-failing-grade-stadiums-ar-1036087/

Despite all the talk recently on this subject, I have yet to see or hear about a real financial plan to make a new arena a reality. The feasibility study that was conducted was released about 6 months ago and still nothing seems to be moving - it's almost as if Richmond is ignoring the fact that something needs to happen just like in the case of a new baseball diamond. Perhaps something is in the works behind closed doors and we just haven't heard anything yet (let's hope that's it and not that Richmond is ignoring what needs to be done). At any rate, Richmond can do this! If it needs any example of who has done it before (against many odds), take a look at Oklahoma City. Their story is amazing and they built a new, large arena even before there was a chance for an NBA team! I personally believe that if Richmond builds it (not necessarily the city), they will come. This article is proof that it CAN happen! By-the-way, should we start a new thread for "Richmond's New Arena (Proposed)?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Arena

What are your thoughts?

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Posted (edited)

As of late, I have noticed an increase in articles regarding the need for Richmond to build a new arena. Here are a few links to some of those articles:

http://www2.timesdis...11792-vi-27167/

http://www2.timesdis...ect-ar-1041278/

http://www2.timesdis...ums-ar-1036087/

Despite all the talk recently on this subject, I have yet to see or hear about a real financial plan to make a new arena a reality. The feasibility study that was conducted was released about 6 months ago and still nothing seems to be moving - it's almost as if Richmond is ignoring the fact that something needs to happen just like in the case of a new baseball diamond. Perhaps something is in the works behind closed doors and we just haven't heard anything yet (let's hope that's it and not that Richmond is ignoring what needs to be done). At any rate, Richmond can do this! If it needs any example of who has done it before (against many odds), take a look at Oklahoma City. Their story is amazing and they built a new, large arena even before there was a chance for an NBA team! I personally believe that if Richmond builds it (not necessarily the city), they will come. This article is proof that it CAN happen! By-the-way, should we start a new thread for "Richmond's New Arena (Proposed)?"

http://en.wikipedia....homa_City_Arena

What are your thoughts?

Yes, The Thunder plays in the big Oklahoma City arena.

That land-locked midwestern city also has a very successful canal walk, unlike the one in Richmond.

If a new arena is approved, Richmond seems determined to put it right in the path of future development of VCU Medical and the Biotech Park at a site bounded (roughly) by Marshall, Leigh, 8th and 10th Streets. What's more, with a proposed capacity of about 15,500 it would be another chapter in the local saga of not building big enough.

I wonder if site consideration has ever included the mostly empty lots used for parking in the area bounded (again roughly) by The Downtown Expressway on the south, Main Street on the north, 2nd Street to the west and 5th Street to the east? With the natural slope of the land, a big structure fronting on Main Street could conceivably bridge cross streets downhill so as not to close them to traffic. The Expressway would allow access from all sections of the region.

Edited by burt
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wrldcoupe4 Metropolitan Area

wrldcoupe4

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Posted

The currently proposed site is short sited.

And here's the key to Oklahoma City's success:

"The facility was the premier component of the city's 1993 Capital Improvement Program, known as Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), which financed new and upgraded sports, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities primarily in the downtown section with a temporary 1-cent sales tax assessed."

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burt Megalopolis

burt

Posted
Posted (edited)

Richmond is bidding for something approaching Olympic proportions. A local delegation headed by Mayor Jones is in Geneva laying out the city's hopes to host a World cycling 9-day event in 2015 which could bring half a million visitors to Central Virginia.

If I interpret the story correctly. the list of hopeful localities has dwindled to two -- the City of Richmond and Oman on the Arabian Peninsula.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...bid-ar-1025372/

Representatives of Union Cyliste Internationale are in Richmond this week. A September announcement will be made in Copenhagen awarding The 2015 World Road Championship event to one of the two finalists -- Richmond or the country of Oman on the Arabian Peninsula.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...ide-ar-1067792/

And here's a story about a "mysterious black van" trolling streets in The Fan.

Turns out, it was the group from Union Cycliste Internationale. :thumbsup:

From today's RVANews:

http://rvanews.com/news/mysterious-black-van-closes-richmond-streets/42105

Edited by burt
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burt Megalopolis

burt

Posted
Posted (edited)

Two Swiss gentlemen, Philippe Colliou and Marc Chovelon, are getting the red carpet tour of Richmond. They will be among those deciding whether Richmond or a place in Oman will host the 2015 Union Cycliste Internationale event.

So far, they like what they have seen.

From Lou Llovio in today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...lin-ar-1070137/

Edited by burt
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