Playing ball in Shockoe.

Ok, so last week I touched on the re-visitation of the idea to build a stadium in Shockoe Bottom. Since then people have complained about traffic, crime, and poverty. Tourism is the 3rd largest industry in the Commonwealth and the City of Richmond. If I were the Police Chief, then I would be talking about ways to deal with crime in Shockoe Bottom, not tourism. Ok sure, there needs to be way to make it all work and I have a few ideas, ideas that I probably won't cover in one sitting, but I will cover eventually.

The first thing is first. Financing. I believe I covered the idea of selling the Diamond, City Stadium, and the Coliseum and use the income to purchase the already partially city-owned land in Shockoe Bottom needed to build a Sports Complex. Oh and didn't the Landmark Theater just get renamed the Altria Theater? Corporate backing for redevelopment, that happens? Really!? Hmmm, the Dominion Arena and MWV Stadium, I kind of like the sound of that. I mean if they can drop $150,000 each for one day of fireworks, I think they might be able to make some more moves for tourism. Then they could have fireworks inside the stadium that bares their name, after a baseball game, or maybe also even a football game. Yeah and why has nobody brought that idea up... which brings me to my next rant.

Virginia Commonwealth University. Hello, you are THE largest state funded school in the Commonwealth of Virginia and you do not have a football team? What is that about? Let's break it down. Dr. Trani was against the idea while he was President, but things have changed. There is a new guy in town and his name is Michael Rao, a graduate of the University of Florida and South Florida. He was also a Dean at Central Michigan? Don't all those schools have pretty successful Football programs. And haven't we seen how a little school pride boosts a local economy. Sure we can bank on Basketball, so build a new arena and call it the home of the A10 Tournament Championships or perhaps a few NCAA tournament games, but it will have to be at least 16k seating, cause nobody is calling anything home without it. But basketball isn't the only thing this city loves. We love football! Why not give VCU's Club Football team the chance to grow into a Division 1 FCS or even FBS team that it should have already had years ago? And I would never suggest having them play in City Stadium, there is a reason the Universtiy of Richmond built a new stadium on their campus and its the same reason the Squirrels want a new baseball stadium. The facilities are terrible and poorly placed. A stadium in Shockoe Bottom would be right next to VCU's Medical Campus and would require an investment from VCU to allow them to play baseball and football there. Then you could also pitch the counties on a new place to play their regional tournaments, or pitch to the Virginia High School League, or the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association, in both football and baseball. It could be a mixed-use stadium and would be used year round. The Squirrel's season ends in September and Football starts in September. Perfect timing. Let's make it happen. Mixed Use Stadium and Let's get VCU involved.

Last thing, this is just the first phase of revitalizing Richmond's most historic neighborhood. This is NOT the answer to everything, but it is the thing that gets the conversation started with everything else. By revitalizing our most historic neighborhood, it makes the area attractive to the people who live in the West End, the people who scowl at the prospect of an evening in Shockoe Bottom, and the people who want to do more but don't see Richmond as that place to be doing more. You know what else it does? It brings in more tax revenue, which can be spent on teachers salaries, after school programs, hiring more police officers, building wider on-ramps from 95 to Broad Street to accommodate more traffic for ingress and egress to and from Shockoe Bottom, and perhaps even a few homeless shelters with job training. But its not all going to happen overnight, you have to start somewhere. There is no time like the present.

I welcome any and all of your comments. You can leave them here or send an email to mrrvatourism@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!

All Roads Lead to Shockoe!

Welcome the conversation about the Revitalization of the Historic Shockoe Valley, Richmond's center for tourism as it's primary entertainment district. Where some may argue this fact, it is essential to the entire city that this fact be reinforced and promoted. That is what I am here to do!

So, some of you might have been following the idea of where the next stadium might be built. I am a proponent for having a stadium built in Shockoe Bottom, the obvious entertainment district of Richmond that needs an anchor for redevelopment.

For those of us that study urban planning, all entertainment districts are anchored by some sort of arena or stadium and historic districts are anchored by some sort of massive historic landmark. Why not do both? Shockoe Bottom is the "Historic District" of the city and also the obvious entertainment district. In every other city across the country, the historic district is also the entertainment district. By building a stadium in Shockoe, it would bring about new developments similar to that of Kansas City's Power and Light District. The area would be more attractive to developers like the Cordish Companies (the developers of KC Power & Light).  By funding a new stadium project, new traffic patterns would also accompany such a development to relieve congestion.  Better sidewalks and lighting would be installed, landlords would be forced to hold their tenants more accountable for their businesses, and the area would become more attractive to more upscale restaurants and nightlife establishments. It would trigger a boom in what is already the obvious location of Richmond's central district!

For those of you that are against a Shockoe Bottom Stadium, do you ever go to Shockoe Bottom? My guess is no. Do you study urban planning and development? Probably not. Do you know that tourism is the third largest revenue source for both the city and the state? Well now you do. Anchoring Shockoe Bottom with a Stadium will centralize tourism to the center of the city. Being that Shockoe Bottom is the first neighborhood laid out by William Mayo in 1737, it is the most historic neighborhood in Richmond. It needs an anchor for revitalization and a Stadium is the answer! Sure you can stick to your Fan bars and restaurants, and they will always still be fun, but Shockoe Bottom will be where the real entertainment district of Richmond is and will always be located!

Now to help with traffic congestion with the area, a new plan shall be proposed. Here is what I suggest. Franklin Street should be continued one-way east through the Train Shed all the way to 21st Street. Main Street should be one-way headed west starting at 21st Street. 16th Street should be one-way heading south from the southbound lanes of Oliver Hill to Main, 18th Street should be one-way headed north from Canal to the northbound lanes of Oliver Hill. Both Grace and Marshall Streets would be one-way headed west starting at 21st Street. 21st Street will be one way headed south and 20th Street will be one way headed north. 19th Street will be one-way headed south. 17th Street will become a pedestrian walkway and preserve the cobblestones. 

Let's talk numbers.

The land value of City Stadium, the Diamond, and the Coliseum are $35 million combined, $102 million if you include the improvement values. And while we are on the subject, might as well build an arena nearby the stadium and make it a sports complex. The price of the stadium land, which is majority owned by the City of Richmond, is $8 million. The price of the arena land is $13 million. That leaves $13 million left over to put towards building a stadium and an arena, just based on the land values of the sold city properties and the improvement values of the needed land. 

Now this would just be a start to the redevelopment of Shockoe Bottom, but acknowledging it as the Entertainment District of Richmond is the first step towards revitalization. Stadiums and Arenas are key to developing entertainment districts. They are the large venues of entertainment for sports, concerts, and large spectacles. Afterwards, people want to walk to restaurants and bars to have a nearby bite to eat and couple of drinks to celebrate victory (or defeat). Or they just want to keep the party going and they don't want to travel far to do it! They could take a carriage ride through Shockoe Bottom and Shockoe Slip. They could walk up to Church Hill and see the best views of the city. They could walk over to the Canal Walk and take a Canal Cruise and learn about how Richmond's waterways were vital to our history. There is so much history in Shockoe Bottom, but right now, no one cares to know about it because it is our biggest eyesore. Let's make it pretty, lets make it fun, and let's do something about it NOW!