“Debating the resolution: Shockoe Bottom is the best place for a new ballpark” was the Richmond Times-Dispatch Public Square Forum’s topic up for debate. It was put in play shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday by the evening’s emcee, Tom Silvestri.
Silvestri, the newspaper’s publisher, then asked a handful of people in the audience of about 200 people why they showed up. After a few innocuous answers a man swelled up and pronounced the Shockoe Bottom baseball stadium concept to be “the worst idea since the Edsel.”
After the chuckles and applause subsided Silvestri introduced the four invited panelists; two spoke in favor of the resolution, two spoke against it.
Yes: Paul Kreckman is a vice president of Highwood Properties. Highwoods is the master development adviser for the proposed Shockoe Bottom Center, as well as a proposed development on the Boulevard. And, Bryan Bostic of Richmond Baseball Club. With his partners he is in the process of buying a minor league team, the Connecticut Defenders, to move it to Richmond as soon as next year.
No: Jean Wright lives in a 200-year-old house in Church Hill, a few blocks from the where the proposed stadium would be. She is an attorney who belongs to a number of organizations devoted to historical preservation. And, Charlie Diradour of Lion’s Paw Development Co., which owns properties in the Fan District and elsewhere in town. He founded baseballontheboulevard.com and regularly attended R-Braves games.
By the time the smoothly-run program ended two hours later, it was obvious that a majority of the attendees had been more in sympathy with the Edsel crack than the sentiment expressed in the forum’s resolution.
After the panelists spoke for four minutes each, followed by two-minute rebuttals, the members of the audience with something to say lined up behind two microphones; twenty-some of them spoke.
In spite of their determined efforts to sell the merits of the proposition, by pitchmen Kreckman and Bostic, at least two-thirds of the speakers came out against the baseball stadium being built in Shockoe Bottom.
Reasons to oppose the proposition included wanting to protect historical aspects of Shockoe Bottom, distrusting the developers’ projections, preferring baseball to be played on the Boulevard, and wanting a ballpark built by way of regional cooperation -- as was The Diamond.
With so many in the room obviously disagreeing with his position, toward the end of the program Kreckman scolded them for being “ill-informed.” He suggested maybe the newspaper could do a better job of spreading his gospel.
The next-to-the-last speaker, a man who claimed to be 48 years old, asked listeners to hold up their hands to indicate how many were under 40. He then characterized the opposition to the Highwoods plan as being mostly over 40 and stubborn; he chided the geezers for “being really selfish.”
Those curious remarks were met with some stiffened backs and low grumbles. Still, no one on either side of the proposition came close to being uncivil.
Leading up to the Public Square forum, Bostic, with Kreckman at his side, had made several presentations to the public in various locations around town. Throughout the process, Bostic has continued to assert that a baseball stadium financed and built according to their plan will be delivered “free” to Richmond’s taxpayers.
Diradour challenged Bostic’s assertion, “There ain’t nothing free!”
Mayor Dwight Jones attended the forum but did not speak. There were members of City Council in attendance, as well, but the politicians were only there to observe and be seen.
As they did at the Apr. 22 presentation at Albert Hill Middle School, both Kreckman and Bostic grew somewhat impatient with those attendees who opposed their plans for the Boulevard and Shockoe Bottom.
However, it’s difficult to find the wisdom in blaming poor salesmanship on the people who won’t buy your pitch. Isn’t that something like a politician saying to the voters -- vote for me, unless you're too boneheaded stupid to see I’m the best candidate?
It’s doubtful many of the politicians in the room would want to run on that slogan.
As the panelists, pols and other attendees left the building, to find it was still a pleasant spring evening -- perfect baseball weather! -- one and all had to suspect that if Richmond’s voters were asked to put their stamp of approval on the Shockoe Bottom Center proposal, Kreckman and Bostic would be in trouble.
With news the Richmond Baseball Club is moving closer to finalizing the deal to buy the Defenders, perhaps Bostic and Kreckman should look in the bullpen to see if they can find a better pitchman -- a closer, to sell their $765 million scheme.
F.T. Rea is a freelance artist/writer based in the Fan District. He publishes SLANTblog and the Fan District Hub, an independent community news Web site. Rea's work has been seen under a variety of local mastheads since 1972.
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