The new design team that now runs the Diamond District Ballpark gives the City of Richmond a first look at the stadium that would upgrade the Diamond.
Schematic designs for the new stadium that would serve as an anchor for the Diamond District’s larger mixed-use progression were recently submitted to the City Council and received through Richmond BizSense a Freedom of Information Act request.
The designs, which are initial and subject to change, give an idea (several, in fact) of what the new stadium would look like and how it would integrate with the larger development.
The designs showcase what is described as a 10,000-seat stadium with suites on the upper levels above the outdoor seating and amenities around the entire playing field, adding an outdoor play area for youth and families, terraces with lawn seating, a beer garden, a party. deck, BBQ picnic area, and a major frontage on the east side that opens to the Diamond District’s planned linear park.
The document comes months after a renovation on the design team of the particular stadium, with the Richmond Flying Squirrels in charge of the ballpark and the rest of the Diamond District in the hands of RVA Diamond Partners, the city’s chosen developer.
The design team for the new stadium is led through Machete Group, a Houston-based company that acts as the Flying Squirrels’ representative at the stadium. The team also includes Odell design, Ballpark Design Associates and KEI, which replaced the old RVA. stadium designer and progression representative for Diamond Partners, DLR Group and JMI Sports.
The document obviously does not show how the designs differ from those that the DLR organization had worked on in the past. The new organization’s document refers to a draft programming summary that DLR prepared last June and that the organization thought about when it drew up its designs.
The Flying Squirrels Ball Club declined a request for designs for this story.
The 10,000 seats outlined in the designs are a return to the venue’s originally proposed capacity, originally planned for 8,000 seats and room for 2,000 more people standing. The planned capacity at one point was reduced to 9,000 people and more recently it was projected to 9,400 people. Currently, the Diamond seats about 9,500 people, with an average attendance of more than 6,000 people at Flying Squirrels games.
At the same time, the stadium project has increased to between $110 million and $120 million, up from a previous estimate of $90 million.
Most of the seating would occupy a bowl on the lower level, while the rest of the room would include the upper-level suites, concessions, the three clubhouses, and team offices, as well as the beer garden, picnic area, and a game room for the team. store.
The document encourages a “Richmond-centered design” for the stadium, with commercial and rail influences that could be achieved with brick facades along the concourse and a more modern design for the suites.
The main front would have a metal-framed front design and approximate patronage displays. Visitors would be greeted through a “nostalgic” segment of the stadium with seats salvaged from the Diamond, a historic baseball wall in Richmond and the team store designed with an old-fashioned mill aesthetic.
The children’s play area would feature climbable rocks reminiscent of the James River, and the gardens would be covered with tiered patches of grass that would offer seating on the lawn for families. The domain would grow larger into an adjacent linear park with prep spaces for food trucks. .
The site’s reclamation would be designed to be sustainable for three decades, according to the document. These would include, but are not limited to, central warehouse or commissary, classic concessions, and takeaway self-checkout concessions.
The new stadium would rise directly south of the Diamond, which would remain in operation but would be demolished once its replacement is complete. The new stadium would occupy the southwest corner of the 67-acre Diamond District site, in the domain bordering Arthur. Ashe Boulevard and the train tracks.
The adjacent VCU-owned Sports Backers Stadium would also remain in use while replacement facilities are built at the planned VCU Sports Village across Hermitage Road. The athletics stadium would also be demolished.
The document states that the stadium’s design team met with the Flying Squirrels “to further expand the variety of fan fun zones and ticket prices. “It adds that the materials, configurations and final seating types “will be further developed with the Squirrels’ stakeholders and the person responsible for the structure in the remaining design phases. “
The new stadium is designed to meet the facility criteria required by Major League Baseball for professional baseball venues nationwide, as well as NCAA Division 1 criteria for use through VCU Baseball. The document notes that “no provisions for long-term expansion are considered. “in the design.
MLB, which in recent years has taken over oversight of minor league facilities such as The Diamond, has set a 2025 deadline for all venues to comply. The city stated that they would not meet that deadline, but said they aim to complete the new stadium in time by 2026. baseball season, with MLB aware that the task is underway. Construction of the new stadium is expected to take more than 18 months.
The design of the stadium is carried out by the structural engineering firm Walter P Moore; engineer MEP Smith Seckman Reid; civil engineer and landscape architect Kimley-Horn; generation and AV representative Anthony James Partners; and Recovery Representative William Caruso
Odell, who has an office in Richmond, is a member of New York-based design firm LaBella Associates and a stadium designer for Machete Group’s Diamond District team that lost to RVA Diamond Partners. Odell’s sports and entertainment portfolio includes the BB
Note: This story has been updated with additional details from the schematic design document.
It’s a beauty! I recently attended a series of school games in Jacksonville at the stadium of their Triple-A Miami affiliate, “The Jumbo Shrimp,” and this one will be much better. I doubt there’s a nicer Double-A park in the country. In fact, I wonder if we could identify a Triple A association here.
Primo seats were $30 per set of the series I watched. Cocktails were the biggest expense. Hopefully, VCU will be able to host annual tournaments with groups from all over the country.
It has long been rumored that the Nationals will move their Triple-A team from Rochester here after the stadium is built.
This has to be the least lively ballpark architecture I’ve ever seen. It literally looks like I-beams and steel cladding. There’s no top platform on the indoor pitch to keep you as close to the action imaginable on a budget, but there are plenty of crappy seats for a football box from the action later on.
Walk along Highway 95 to the jewel of Fredericksburg Ballpark, a fantastic place to catch a game. Similar design to the one proposed here, and it’s not just one nasty seat.
And it’s $70 million to $80 million less expensive to build!
That’s because the FredNats seats are located roughly in the same place as the Diamond seats, near the infield. Judging by the representation here, they’re probably occupying more than 2,000 seats (which equates to five sections) beyond where the Diamond (and FredNats) seats are. . The FredNats only have a capacity of 5,000 people, compared to more than 9,000; Instead of keeping the extra seats close to the action, they’ve relegated them to oblivion. Plus, the sightlines are awful: most trendy ballparks orient the seating toward the action. These renders don’t constitute that: only a portion of the seats are oriented towards. . . Read More »
Well, the design looks like a larger edition of FredNats Stadium or a spring education facility shared between the Nationals and Astros. A major upgrade if built, and moving the suites a point places the entire lobby with a wonderful view of the game that you don’t have at the Diamond.
I don’t hate the overall aesthetic, but I totally agree – it would be great to have shaded seating on the upper level. I know we’re not in Florida, but it’s very hot and I’ve been to several very depressing places. Squirrel games in which it’s just brutal to sit in the sun.
Good point.
I understand why such a level would take 18 months. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas took 22 months and is 7 times larger and 20 times more expensive.
Lord, this is the NFL and an expansion team in Las Vegas, MiLB in Richmond, Virginia.
All of those reviews come at a price (though it’s hard to see the precise angle of the seats). I was also hoping for something a little more “Richmond”, adding the striking visual structures of the warehouse and railroad on the outside. Fence to wrap the city’s stadium well. But at least they’ve gotten the position right and I have some confidence that if that’s what the Squirrels’ leadership is asking for, contributing to it deserves to be acceptable. And, at this point, if that’s what we’re achieving, it’s been a long time. . . Read More »
And this stage, says Richmond? I don’t even see the architectural elements of commercial or railway influence.
It’s right next to the exercise tracks; I wish it was like the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park, where the drill courts go under the bleachers and you can hear the drills during the game.
These lower seats will have no view of the game. He wants to be bigger.
You’d be surprised what other stadiums look like with this setup.
That doesn’t make it a trend.
100% true. The seats in the box area offer the worst view in baseball. You want an elevation angle to see things in the inbox from the outside. And if you’re making plans to build an elevation, why not build it around the inbox, near the action?
The answer (probably): it costs less to build and encourages other people to buy more expensive indoor seating on the lower level. It’s not funny.
The flat roof takes the atmosphere away from the stadium.
The Charlotte Knights are a triple-A team in a 10,200-seat stadium. It opened in 2014 at a cost of $54 million. So what’s going on in the Diamond District? The charge has more than doubled to between $110 million and $120 million. The number of seats for the Flying Squirrels, a double-A team will be the same as a triple-A team!Major League Baseball is sticking to Richmond. They are asking for a stadium with a maximum capacity of 8,000 people. This would reduce the cost and be more in line with the Squirrels’ average game attendance. Read More »
No, it probably wouldn’t be ready, and comparing it to a AAA device and adding its prices from a decade ago doesn’t do it much justice. In addition, MLB has continuously asked the Flying Squirrels to modernize their facilities. He even fell off the roof many years ago!
For America’s most productive professional baseball experience, head to Truist Park and see the world-class venue where the Atlanta Braves play. It’s an all-day family destination that hits a home run. It’s a complete package like no other. Richmond deserved to have hired its designers. They did it!
Thank you man
The new primary league parks put on a show. (The ultimate sarcastic eye roll imaginable)
They’re all destroying that comment of the guy because they think it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, but it’s a valid argument. An important component of the A-Braves gameplay experience is The Battery. There’s nothing revolutionary about Truist. Park inside the gates: it’s nice, but it’s nothing impressive. What’s impressive and revolutionary is the dining, bar, and entertainment district they’ve built around the park. Fully walkable/no vehicular traffic without delay around the ballpark. Hopefully, anything of this nature evolves for the Diamond District around this park.
As a Braves fan for 50 years, that’s a terrible statement. They took their very fancy stadium (the Ted’s) located right in the middle of the city and moved it to the suburbs where Atlanta isn’t even there. Yes, the park is adorable, but Ted was also amazing and was in Atlanta.
I hope this stadium will be multi-purpose and limited to baseball.
Oh, me too!
We were given the task of bringing back Doug Wilder.
There are many well-researched books on the economics of Muni sports, if you need to educate yourself on anything.
The guy who tried to put the stadium on the back of the road and caused this endless accumulation of delays?Let’s go. . .
It’s Dwight Jones.
While I know and respect his role in municipal government, Google and RTD’s archives recommend that his memory is wrong. Wilder first proposed building a slave museum at Shockoe Bottom to offset the backlash of the preliminary plan, then pivoted when that happened. not paintings.
Funny little comments about the article point out that this render looks remarkably like previous visions from other companies. I’m guessing the overall design hasn’t changed, however, the express features (like 3 clubhouses for VCU to have its own) are tweaks. that possibly none of the visitors will notice. The dominance of the food truck is comical; Food trucks haven’t fared well, as stadium owners need discounts/usage fees that make it unlikely that local vendors will feel it’s worth participating. We don’t forget the success Washington Training Park had with food truck vendors. I can’t see that either. . . Read More »
Before other people get excited, I think it’s vital to keep in mind that, as stated in the article, “designs are initial and subject to change. “
Although I feel like designs tend to get worse, not better, as other people start to cut the budget. . .
Interesting comments. As a parent, I have to say that my biggest fear is the lack of shade for the seats. . . These games get very hot and kids possibly wouldn’t need to come/stay if it’s 95 degrees in the sun.
It’s part of the package: lots of other things to do but still sit in the sun.
I’m trying to figure out if this comment is satire. . . Assuming it isn’t, the main purpose of going to a baseball game is. . . Watch the baseball game. If the solution to the need for shade is. . . Doing anything other than watching the baseball game, that’s a pretty terrible solution.
If that satire, I’m sorry.
?
Is it a store?
This design is “Anywhere in the United States. “Thank goodness the rendering is preliminary.
Those lower seats will be awful. They are not superior enough. He wants stadium-style seating on the top deck, most likely in the shade. Those sunny afternoon matches in July and August get pretty hot and unbearable. Reduce the number of luxury boxes.
A tough crowd! I think the rendering is very good and it’s definitely an improvement and a step in the right direction for us. I’m excited! That said, a few sunshades on lawn seating would be a very simple addition. It’s hot out there.
I hope that the opening of the new stadium will be well coordinated and consistently supported for years to come and I would like to see a hockey team that suits their needs and returns to Richmond as well.
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