i also want you to know i didn't want to be coming off as disregarding your experience :) BL has a special place in my heart

Those things are all much cooler than a minor league baseball team.

If baseball wasn’t demanding the city use our limited resources to pay for its infrastructure, I’d have no problem with it but every few years they try to hold the city hostage and it’s annoying as hell and it’s not an appropriate use of limited tax payer money. I’m all for people having fun, even things I don’t like or enjoy like baseball, but I’d rather have good schools, better roads, and things that benefit everyone not just people looking to be entertained for the night.

Fair enough, I don’t know shit about weather so I figured maybe someone else had more insight on it than me

Except that these types of venues have been shown time and time again to be a good investment for cities. See Charlottesville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Louisville, and Norfolk as examples

If you think Richmond not spending money on this means it’s automatically going to kids and roads, you are gonna be really bummed if ever take time to learn how government budgeting works.

Also, as stated elsewhere, Richmond owns the Diamond. Not MLB nor the Squirrels.

A city with art, music, and a river? How unique!

We own the ballpark. The Squirrels are a tenant. The landlord has to keep the place up to date. It is an investment in Richmond’s own interest to keep the team here and happy.

Jeez. Have you even been to a squirrels game? It’s an affordable family friendly event and generally a good time even if you don’t like baseball. A family of five can go out, fed and entertain the kids for way less then a dinner and a movie.

Enjoy spending time out doors? ✅ Enjoy local beer? Wait it’s priced cheaper than the brewery?! ✅✅ Enjoy supporting local businesses and charities? ✅ surprise, yes they do this too. Enjoy music? ✅ local bands play before every first pitch. Enjoy looking at fit men in fit pants? ✅✅✅ Enjoy looking at unfit men in wild/crazy pants? ✅

Sporting events at the minor league level are NOTHING like major league team and attending is hardly about the sport. You know, we can have all those other things you listed AND baseball. You don’t gotta shit on a whole collective of people just because YOU don’t like baseball.

If Baseball was financially viable cities would not have to keep coughing up money to build their parks for them, but it’s not even after over a decade of the squirrels being here for some reason they can’t stand on their own feet despite being part of a multibillion dollar industry. It’s a losing proposition and a waste of our limited resources. We need to fix our schools, build mixed income housing, build community centers, fix our roads and build homeless shelters. Building a playground for rich people to save money on their private enterprise is a waste of cash and is the literal bottom of real priorities for anyone who understands how a city works.

It’s so telling in these threads who are the man children and who are the actual adults.

Penny wise and dollar foolish. With the new Diamond district coming losing the team now would be devastating. The lifetime value in terms of tax revenue of the team and the business squirrels games generate and will continue to generate in the surrounding area is greater than this expense

Holy shit. It's been 14 years?! Where did the time go...

I’d rather help the children of my city than give money away to private business that doesn’t even pay its players fairly.

So do you just not understand how money works?

Because that’s not how money works

That deal is bullshit

Baseball is boring as fuck, we have art, music, the mother fucking James River. I don’t give a fuck about a bunch of men playing a game or want to throw away money that could be used to make our city a better place for families and children to subsidize a multibillion dollar industry that could afford to pay for their own infrastructure.

I mean when you have enough support is it a scam. It's poorly spent money that everyone agrees on.

That's why I was against the coliseum, it doesn't make financial sense and Richmond shouldn't be in the game of subsidizing entertainment.

So it’s a scam

That is a shame, I was going to check them out.

Well if you want a good run cocktail, you can hit up the tasting room at Virago Spirits Menu — Virago Spirits

They ahve a limit of two drink a person but its fun.

Because people in Richmond are sick of having our tax dollars thrown into private business ventures that don’t deliver on their promises, see Redskins training camp.

Blame MLB for building a business model off of being given free money from cities that need to put it towards things that actually matter.

Because fuck giving a multibillion dollar corporation free money

Stuff like this makes it difficult for people with low/fixed incomes.

I’d rather feed kids and improve our roads than pay for a private business’ upkeep expenses. MLB is a multibillion dollar industry, if they can’t pay for their own infrastructure why should the tax payers of our city?