Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones says a proposed Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) ballpark site is under archaeological and historical review, but opponents say the plan doesn’t ensure potential preservation. A central issue in the ballpark-development plan has been the significance of the ballpark site in Shockoe Bottom, once the second-largest slade-trading site in […]
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Flying Squirrels ballpark plan advances
The Richmond City Council voted 6-3 tonight to advance a controversial Shockoe Bottom plan for a new Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) ballpark and other development for further negotiations. The vote came after a long night of testimony, featuring those who argue the ballpark plan, coupled with associated economic development both in Shockoe […]
Richmond ballpark opponents: Map used to justify location is incorrect
The creator of a slave-trade map used by Richmond officials says it’s not accurate and should not be used to justify the construction of a new Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) ballpark in Shockoe Bottom. A map of Shockoe Bottom slave-trade sites was created in 2000 by Richmond historian Elizabeth Cann Kambourian. She’s […]
Alternative plan pitched for Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom: No new ballpark
A group opposing a new Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) ballpark have proposed an alternate plan for Shockoe Bottom: no new ballpark, large slave-trade memorial. The three-page proposal from a group of activists and historians led by Phil Wilayto calls for the same level of development in the area — hotel, office space, […]
Big week for new Flying Squirrels ballpark
A week after Mayor Dwight Jones unveiled a new Shockoe Bottom ballpark plan for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League), the City Council will debate its merits. It’s an ambitious plan, calling for a new ballpark and flood control to Shockoe Bottom — over the objections of activists calling for a strong commemoration […]
Activists: Ballpark not best use for Shockoe Bottom
Efforts to bring a new ballpark for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA: Eastern League) in Shockoe Bottom must be balanced with an awareness of the sad history of the slave trade in the area, according to activists opposing the project. Though there’s no proposal formally on the table, Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones has been […]
Didn’t take long: Opposition rises to Shockoe Bottom ballpark site
We predicted this would happen when Shockoe Bottom was revived as a Richmond ballpark site: local proponents of a slave-trading museum don’t see baseball as an appropriate use of the historic site. Former Mayor Doug Wilder pushed Shockoe Bottom as the site of a ballpark for the Richmond Braves (Class AAA; International League), but it was opposed […]