Mayor Levar Stoney and City Council members — soon to leave office — are hellbent to use their waning power to put Richmond taxpayers on the hook for $280 million in unprecedented baseball stadium debt financing. Stoney unveiled his proposal on April 8. He and his Council majority say they will ram it through at a Council meeting on May 8.
But having the right to do it doesn’t make it the right thing to do.
Richmond elects new leaders this year. Never in Virginia history have city officials, even recently elected, enacted a potential stadium debt bomb in four weeks. This guarantees citizens have no time for effective input.
Stoney and his political allies justify their actions by saying Major League Baseball officials and the owners of the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ are not bluffing with their latest ultimatums. One, city leaders must quickly pass a debt-financing plan to ensure stadium construction is completed in time for the Squirrels’ 2026 season opener. Two, should Richmond leaders balk, the Squirrels will leave and MLB has implied Richmond will never get another baseball team.
The mayor and his Council supporters have recently done similar bullying. Last year, they tried forcing Richmond to accept their flawed casino deal. Casino backers ran what Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams labeled a despicable campaign featuring “racist, sexist and antisemitic rants.” I led the anti-casino effort that defied these intimidation tactics.
Stadium ultimatums are not new to Richmond. In 2005, the Richmond Braves minor league team and MLB used similar threats, trying to coerce then-Mayor Doug Wilder into backing a costly Shockoe Bottom stadium. They said their proposal wouldn’t cost city taxpayers a penny. Wilder tasked me with reviewing this “free lunch” claim.
I spent several months analyzing the proposal. Their “free lunch” failed the smell test once I figured out who got what — and why. Wilder rejected it. Stadium backers said his refusal would cost Richmond millions.
The Braves soon headed South after convincing the good old boys in Gwinnett County, Georgia, to swallow their “free lunch.” The cost of the stadium wound up doubling, attendance waned as ticket prices increased and the county has been forced to divert tax revenues from other sources to help pay off the bond debt.
As I suspected, MLB — despite their ultimatum — later reversed course in Richmond. The AA Squirrels’ owners have never had it better: They play in our lucrative regional market formerly reserved for AAA teams.
Richmond’s chief administrative officer — Stoney’s college buddy — admits the $280 million is a risky “bet” exposing us to a potential Gwinnett County debacle. But he says residents need to trust City Hall’s projection that new tax revenues generated by the ballpark and proposed surrounding development would cover the bet.
Remember how former Mayor Dwight Jones forced the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) training camp debacle on Richmond by insisting the team demanded an immediate answer? Those sure-bet financial predictions from City Hall later proved patently unrealistic.
Government by ultimatum is no way to run a city or choose priorities.
In 1955, Richmond leaders promised to obey federal law and modernize Richmond Public Schools facilities for long-denied Black students. They promised equal educational opportunities. Stoney and Council members made the same campaign promises in 2016 and 2020. It is now 2024. Student learning is sinking, school buildings are crumbling, and the mayor’s new budget shortchanges RPS facility maintenance while lacking a plan to modernize facilities.
Black children have waited 69 years and counting. So I feel justified in saying MLB and the Squirrels can wait until 2027.
MLB and the Squirrels have long pledged to always be respectful, good neighbors. In that spirit, let me offer a cooperative alternative to decision by confrontation. First, Richmond leaders accept opening day 2027 as a firm final deadline. Second, this November, after a reasoned debate, citizens get to vote on a baseball stadium referendum. State law allows Council to work on the precise wording until early August.
Personally, I oppose demolishing The Diamond. Modern-day baseball stadiums are designed very differently. The Diamond is now an iconic structure worth saving.
But I trust the people to do what’s best for Richmond. There are several fiscally responsible stadium plans available. I encourage the mayor to ask MLB and the Squirrels to embrace neighborly cooperation for the next few months. Everybody wins. But should they remain intransigent, I am prepared for the Squirrels to leave — if they aren’t bluffing.
Paul Goldman is a lawyer, former chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party and author of “Remaking Virginia Politics.” Contact him at goldmanusa@aol.com.