President of SF Giants Double-A affiliate uncertain of team's future
The SF Giants Double-A affiliate has been the Richmond Flying Squirrels since 2010. However, according to comments Flying Squirrels president and managing partner Lou DiBella made to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the franchise may be forced to move soon. DiBella's comments are the latest escalation in a prolonged effort to build a new stadium in Richmond, Virginia.
“Since the Diamond District development was announced, there has been very little progress on plans for a new stadium. Much needs to get done, but we are running out of time to meet the requirements of Major League Baseball,” DiBella wrote in a statement to the Times-Dispatch.
“If there isn’t a stadium built that meets prescribed MLB guidelines, is suitable for professional baseball, and is worthy of the great City of Richmond, there will be no Opening Day 2026 in RVA,” wrote DiBella.
Lou DiBella speaks at the press conference at Madison Square Garden announcing the Super Six World Boxing Classic. (2009)
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
DiBella's name may be familiar to some fans for reasons outside of baseball. While DiBella is the president of the Flying Squirrels and the CEO of the Montgomery Biscuits (the Tampa Bay Rays Double-A affiliate), the New York native has spent the bulk of his career as a boxing promoter. DiBella has worked with prominent fighters like Deontay Wilder and currently works with more than a dozen boxers, including Amanda Serrano, Richard Commey, Regis Prograis, and Raquel Miller.
DiBella's promoter background does suggest a flare for the dramatic, and there does appear to be some political posturing present in his statement. The Diamond, the Flying Squirrels' home stadium, which was built in 1985, is not compliant with MLB's standards for minor-league facilities. The standards, which were first announced in 2022, are being incrementally implemented over a period of several years, for the Flying Squirrels, there current facilities would not be up to the standards in the 2025 season and beyond.
Last September, a group called RVA Diamond Partners was tabbed to develop plans for a new ballpark in Richmond. The stadium is supposed to be the focal point of a $2.4 billion project on North Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
However, according to the Times-Dispatch, there is still no design for a new ballpark or a timeline for construction more than seven months after the announcement. With stadiums routinely taking 1-2 years to build, time is running out for a stadium to be ready by Opening Day in 2025.
DiBella's statements are likely intended to spark the RVA Diamond Partners, and the city of Richmond, to expedite the process of constructing the new stadium. It's worth pointing out that the Flying Squirrels could ask for an extension/exemption from the minor-league guidelines. Assuming a stadium is in the process of construction, MLB would likely be willing to give them some leeway.
Nevertheless, DiBella has every incentive to speed up the process. “Sadly, with imminent deadlines looming, we cannot be confident that the future of the Squirrels in Richmond is secure," DiBella wrote.
