Squirrels plan no additional Diamond improvements

The Richmond Flying Squirrels invested more than $2 million on upgrades at The Diamond before their inaugural season of 2010. They spent an additional $250,000 on stadium improvements before the first pitch of 2011.

There will be no comparable financial expenditure this offseason.

Lou DiBella, the Double-A franchise's president and managing general partner, said Monday that he expects that the Squirrels will "tweak some things to make it a better experience for the fans," but plan no major improvements.

DiBella added that "I can't justify to my ownership more of a significant investment. There is a degree to which money you sink into that facility is sort of wasted money."

The Diamond, which opened for the 1985 season, is owned and operated by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority. The Squirrels in 2010 paid for the purchase and installation of 3,164 box seats that replaced lower-deck bleachers, among other improvements. The modifications for 2011 included scoreboard enhancements, the addition of a speed-of-pitch display on the outfield wall, and the creation of party decks in the upper level.

Chuck Domino, the Squirrels' chief executive manager, said "95 to 99 percent of anything we're going to spend at The Diamond has already been spent. Now, it's just a matter of upkeep — keeping it going while we're there."

RMA General Manager Mike Berry said the RMA will work with the club to make necessary repairs to The Diamond during the offseason, but no major improvements are on the RMA's agenda.

The Squirrels and the Eastern League, to which the club belongs, remain very interested in a new Richmond stadium. Discussions with area jurisdictions regarding that subject are continuing, Berry said.

"I think we kind of wait and see how the economy does and how it's reflected in the financial wherewithal of the region," Berry said.

The Squirrels led the EL with an average home attendance of 6,626 in 2010 and averaged 6,679 (second among EL clubs) at The Diamond this season.

"It's frustrating to my ownership as we continue to have great success, and work our tails off, and continue to pay the best staff in all of minor-league baseball, yet not be able to recoup money we invested," DiBella said.

The ownership group relocated the franchise from Norwich, Conn., in September 2009 under the impression that "a new stadium would be (in Richmond) by, like 2013," DiBella said. "Now it looks like 2014 is almost out of the question, unless something dramatic happens (during the fall)."

It's likely that the site of a new ballpark would be adjacent to The Diamond. The franchise's ownership group "is certainly antsy," according to DiBella. But he intends for the franchise to be in Richmond "for the long term," he said, and that no one in the ownership group is considering an alternative to Richmond at this point because of concerns over the facility.