News VCU Athletic Village

[Wolfpack Ram]

You make a good point and I will amend my statement to say this: every new facility goes through a honeymoon period. A few years after the newness wears off is really when you can determine the true quality of a facility. A couple of semi-recent examples would be FedEx Field in Maryland and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. A few years after the newness subsided both stadiums were/are viewed very negatively by most fans. While AT&T Stadium in Dallas (Jerry's World) which is now 15 years old is still considered one of the best stadium in the country. Camden Yards remained an enduring stadium every since it opened and will likely remain that way after the proposed renovations. Where as I think the Nats Stadium is the opposite, just a non descript collection of concrete.

So I'll concede that the Richmond Coliseum probably had it's new phase for a few years when it first opened. In my teenage years when I used to visit Virginia in the summer I remember going to wrestling matches at the Coliseum when it was relatively new and nothing stood out about it. When I enrolled to VCU and starting going games consistently in the early 80s I remember feeling like "this place in kind of a dump" and it was barely 10 years old.

Also a lot of this is subjective. I remember when VCU played in the early season NIT at Madison Square Garden in 2010 and thinking MSG was a dump too. Fortunately they pretty much gutted the place and renovated it and it's awesome now.

Prior to the Coliseum and Diamond being built, Richmond had the Arena and Parker Field. When both the Coliseum and Diamond were built, no one in the RVA metropolitan area thought either facility was unattractive or a dump, especially compared to what they replaced.

When the Coliseum was built, 10,000 - 12,000 seat arenas were the norm for metropolitan areas the size of Richmond. Years later those smaller arenas were being replaced with 15,000+ seat arenas. The downfall for the Coliseum, Hampton Roads Coliseum and Scope was their size. The concerts that were playing the Coliseum in the 1970's eventually bypassed RVA for larger arenas. The City of Richmond did expand the Coliseum to 12,000 seats with that horrible end zone third level in order to attract tier one concerts, but those acts continued to bypass Richmond. The NCAA also raised their minimum seating requirements for the NCAA Tournament that sqeezed the Coliseum out. The City of Richmond also half a$$ed it by building small private suites in each corner of the Coliseum. They even outsourced the management of the Coliseum, which helped for period of time. They lost minor league hockey and VCU basketball as tennents. None of the upgrades and the loss of tennents could save the Coliseum from it's demise. And as @share the ball has stated, the City of Richmond let the infrastructure (6th Street Marketplace and Coliseum plaza) around the Coliseum crumble. And here we are today. The City of Richmond can't even afford to tear the Coliseum down, it's a big time eye sore and the Richmond metropolitan area doesn't have a first class arena.

 

[Mistachill]

Prior to the Coliseum and Diamond being built, Richmond had the Arena and Parker Field. When both the Coliseum and Diamond were built, no one in the RVA metropolitan area thought either facility was unattractive or a dump, especially compared to what they replaced.

When the Coliseum was built, 10,000 - 12,000 seat arenas were the norm for metropolitan areas the size of Richmond. Years later those smaller arenas were being replaced with 15,000+ seat arenas. The downfall for the Coliseum, Hampton Roads Coliseum and Scope was their size. The concerts that were playing the Coliseum in the 1970's eventually bypassed RVA for larger arenas. The City of Richmond did expand the Coliseum to 12,000 seats with that horrible end zone third level in order to attract tier one concerts, but those acts continued to bypass Richmond. The NCAA also raised their minimum seating requirements for the NCAA Tournament that sqeezed the Coliseum out. The City of Richmond also half a$$ed it by building small private suites in each corner of the Coliseum. They even outsourced the management of the Coliseum, which helped for period of time. They lost minor league hockey and VCU basketball as tennents. None of the upgrades and the loss of tennents could save the Coliseum from it's demise. And as @share the ball has stated, the City of Richmond let the infrastructure (6th Street Marketplace and Coliseum plaza) around the Coliseum crumble. And here we are today. The City of Richmond can't even afford to tear the Coliseum down, it's a big time eye sore and the Richmond metropolitan area doesn't have a first class arena.

I conceded that there was a newness/honeymoon phase for both facilities but I believe it was short-lived.

I would question, if the facilities were better quality from the beginning, would they have avoided dump status for a longer period of time? Would they have required as much upkeep/renovation to maintain expected standards?

Finally, I get people having little faith in the city and understand why they prefer giving Henrico a try. I really do. Only thing I've ever said, and I completely stand by it, the Best Products site is a FAR less ideal location than the current Coliseum site for a new arena, which I won't beat a dead horse over. But having said that, a nice arena in a bad location beats our current situation.

 

[Mistachill]

VCU, Squirrels, EDA finalize agreements for new ballpark - Richmond BizSense

“This is a model of how a university, a municipality and a professional sports organization can come together to make really important change happen," VCU's Ed McLaughlin said at Monday's ceremony.

richmondbizsense.com

So apparently VCU will only be paying $400K annually to play at the new park. I can accept that more than the originally reported $700K.

 

[Ramaholic]

VCU, Squirrels, EDA finalize agreements for new ballpark - Richmond BizSense

“This is a model of how a university, a municipality and a professional sports organization can come together to make really important change happen," VCU's Ed McLaughlin said at Monday's ceremony.

richmondbizsense.com

So apparently VCU will only be paying $400K annually to play at the new park. I can accept that more than the originally reported $700K.

In the RTD article released the same day it said "VCU also will pay the Squirrels about $300,000 as part of an operating agreement. The Squirrels are required to pay for upkeep of CarMax Park, and VCU’s presence will contribute to wear and tear."

Richmond, Squirrels, VCU commit to Diamond District deals

The three parties have struck a general agreement for VCU to become a tenant at CarMax Park; for VCU to pay the Squirrels as part of an operating agreement and

richmond.com

The article in Richmondbizsense.com stated "McLaughlin said after the ceremony that the agreements also call for VCU to contribute toward the Flying Squirrels’ costs of providing maintenance and grounds crews for collegiate games."
On the plus side, the articles said the $400k lease covered the cost to buildout an exclusive VCU Clubhouse that will be fully outfitted. And of course we are getting the city to pay $25M for Sportsbackers.

 

[Mistachill]

In the RTD article released the same day it said "VCU also will pay the Squirrels about $300,000 as part of an operating agreement. The Squirrels are required to pay for upkeep of CarMax Park, and VCU’s presence will contribute to wear and tear."

Richmond, Squirrels, VCU commit to Diamond District deals

The three parties have struck a general agreement for VCU to become a tenant at CarMax Park; for VCU to pay the Squirrels as part of an operating agreement and

richmond.com

The article in Richmondbizsense.com stated "McLaughlin said after the ceremony that the agreements also call for VCU to contribute toward the Flying Squirrels’ costs of providing maintenance and grounds crews for collegiate games."
On the plus side, the articles said the $400k lease covered the cost to buildout an exclusive VCU Clubhouse that will be fully outfitted. And of course we are getting the city to pay $25M for Sportsbackers.

So that still keeps us at $700K annually, correct?

At this point, whatever. We have a top flight home for our baseball team. I'll stop watch other people's pockets. That's Ed's issue to deal with.

 

[Ramaholic]

So that still keeps us at $700K annually, correct?

At this point, whatever. We have a top flight home for our baseball team. I'll stop watch other people's pockets. That's Ed's issue to deal with.

There is no telling really. They are sort of being cryptic at this point. It is almost they intentionally left the $$ amount of the Richmond Biz Sense article by stating VCU will pay for upkeep during their season. I am not sure if the RTD is just reporting the last $$ amount that was floated before signing. i imagine there was some negotiating off the original amount. There are so many moving parts to this whole Village deal with the EDA, the Squirrels, the city paying $25 million for Sportsbacker's, the EDA paying to outfit the VCU locker rooms at the stadium... Of all the pieces in this puzzle, I feel like VCU has the best relationship with the Squirrels. So idoubt either VCU or the Squirrels are trying to screw each other with the upkeep of the field.

 

[Mistachill]

There is no telling really. They are sort of being cryptic at this point. It is almost they intentionally left the $$ amount of the Richmond Biz Sense article by stating VCU will pay for upkeep during their season. I am not sure if the RTD is just reporting the last $$ amount that was floated before signing. i imagine there was some negotiating off the original amount. There are so many moving parts to this whole Village deal with the EDA, the Squirrels, the city paying $25 million for Sportsbacker's, the EDA paying to outfit the VCU locker rooms at the stadium... Of all the pieces in this puzzle, I feel like VCU has the best relationship with the Squirrels. So idoubt either VCU or the Squirrels are trying to screw each other with the upkeep of the field.

Yeah, at this point I'll just be happy the baseball team finally has a quality home and keep it moving regarding the financial piece.

 

[Ovis fan]

Been passed the Athletic Village cite a few times lately. Looks like giant stadium lights are up for a soccer pitch, track complex...

 

[Natty]

Been passed the Athletic Village cite a few times lately. Looks like giant stadium lights are up for a soccer pitch, track complex...

Same. Was kinda wild to me that they got I'm assuming soccer fields in there before so many other things. Guessing that the Phase 1 Athletics Fields and track part, assuming they are sticking to the timeline of these pics. Looking forward to seeing the indoor tennis facility rise and the soccer stadium. Gonna enjoy watching soccer games in the future without a track around the field. Gets ya closer to the action. Will be a fun little facility.

 

[Wolfpack Ram]

Same. Was kinda wild to me that they got I'm assuming soccer fields in there before so many other things. Guessing that the Phase 1 Athletics Fields and track part, assuming they are sticking to the timeline of these pics. Looking forward to seeing the indoor tennis facility rise and the soccer stadium. Gonna enjoy watching soccer games in the future without a track around the field. Gets ya closer to the action. Will be a fun little facility. View attachment 15038View attachment 15039

Pretty sure the soccer team will play at the track and field arena until the soccer stadium is built in Phase 3. I read somewhere last week the the state architectural review board did not approve the final design to the track and field stadium and VCU has to go back and make revisions. VCU made cuts to the original design and the state architectural review board did not approve those cuts.

Below is an article about it.

State Achitecture Review Board Rejects Virginia Commonweath Athletic Village Initial Phase

By a 4-1 vote, the state architecture review board has rejected design plans for the initial phase of the VCU Athletic Village at Virginia Commonwealth University, even as it endorsed a redesigned iteration of a massive dorm being planned by the university.

www.athleticbusiness.com

 

[PhantomRam]

If the figure is $700,000/yr, that come to about $25,000 per game. Still sounds expensive to me.

 

[Wolfpack Ram]

If the figure is $700,000/yr, that come to about $25,000 per game. Still sounds expensive to me.

$300,000 per year is for field/stadium maintence provided by the Flying Squirrels during VCU's baseball season. Also, VCU uses the stadium more than just for game day. They practice on that field and also have a fall ball season played on that field.

Regarding the $700,000 per year, the other $400,000 is what VCU is paying to lease the stadium from the Authority that owns the stadium. That annual lease also includes the build out of a dedicated locker room at the stadium for VCU baseball.

 

[Wolfpack Ram]

There is no telling really. They are sort of being cryptic at this point. It is almost they intentionally left the $$ amount of the Richmond Biz Sense article by stating VCU will pay for upkeep during their season. I am not sure if the RTD is just reporting the last $$ amount that was floated before signing. i imagine there was some negotiating off the original amount. There are so many moving parts to this whole Village deal with the EDA, the Squirrels, the city paying $25 million for Sportsbacker's, the EDA paying to outfit the VCU locker rooms at the stadium... Of all the pieces in this puzzle, I feel like VCU has the best relationship with the Squirrels. So idoubt either VCU or the Squirrels are trying to screw each other with the upkeep of the field.

The price tag for VCU is $700,000 per year. $400,000 per year lease to the Authority that owns the stadium + $300,000 pe ryear to the Flying Squirrels for maintenance/upkeep of the stadium/playing field and the staff dedicated to that job.

 

[Ramdog]

The price tag for VCU is $700,000 per year. $400,000 per year lease to the Authority that owns the stadium + $300,000 pe ryear to the Flying Squirrels for maintenance/upkeep of the stadium/playing field and the staff dedicated to that job.

About the cost of a good point guard grabbed from the G league

 

[Ovis fan]

They were testing some of the stadium lights yesterday. Somebody is moving quickly!