Everything to know about Richmond's Diamond District stadium plan
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The latest rendering of the full Diamond District. Image: Courtesy of the cit of Richmond
Richmond City Council is poised to approve a new financing plan for the decades-in-the-making new baseball stadium set to replace The Diamond.
Why it matters: The proposal, which the council will vote on next month, could put the city and taxpayers on the hook for the full cost of the new stadium.
- It's also one of several major changes in recent weeks to the broader Diamond District project, the $2.4 billion development expected to change the look of the neighborhood as it's built out over the next 15 years.
The latest: Earlier this month, city officials presented to the council a plan to issue $280 million in city-backed general obligation bonds to pay for the construction of the stadium, per the Times-Dispatch.
- Previously, the plan called for nearly $500 million in bonds issued through a newly-created community development authority.
- The financing change would lock in a lower interest rate and reduce the total project cost by around $215 million over 30 years, according to city estimates.
- Construction is set to begin this summer with the stadium opening in spring 2026 for the Flying Squirrel's season opener.
Threat level: Major League Baseball, which has threatened to pull the Squirrels out of Richmond if a stadium isn't built in time for the 2026 season, called the finance change "an important step forward" to meet the deadline, per RTD.
Meanwhile, the change would allow the city to secure the bonds in time to make use of the $24 million state tax incentive program before it expires in July, per BizSense.
- And it ups the amount the developer, Diamond District Partners, led by Thalhimer Realty Partners, pays for the land in Phase 1 from $16 million to $25 million.
Plus, the developers now say they can build nearly twice as many homes in the first phase of construction — 1,700, up from the planned 1,000, per RTD.
- The vast majority will be apartments. A fifth of them will be designated for locals making $65,000 a year or less; 24 units will be condos for sale.
The new plan also frees up money for the city to return to its plan to buy this year or early next the one parcel in the district it doesn't own — Sports Backers Stadium, RTD reported.
- VCU owns it, and the $25 million buy by the city will allow the school to move forward with a portion of its Athletics Village plan, which will sit behind The Diamond District.
Yes, but: Critics of the plan argue the financing shifts the risk from the developer, onto the city and its taxpayers.
Flashback: In 2021, the city started publicly marketing the "Diamond District" for redevelopment.
- The real estate is a "prime 60 acres" that developers up and down the East Coast were desperate to get their hands on two years before the city announced its RFP, BizSense reported.
- The chief goals for the developer were to build a baseball stadium financially structured to "minimize public investment and risk and maximize private investment," per BizSense.
What's next: City Council is scheduled to vote on the finance changes on May 8, but a majority of council members have indicated they support the proposal if for no other reason than rejecting it means the city might lose its baseball team. Again.