It Was State-of-the-Art

The Diamond on a cloudy night, Aug-1999.

All-aluminum seating dominates the ballpark.

Impending darkness makes it difficult to see the city skyline, out beyond right field.

• Location: Boulevard, near I-95, Richmond, Va.
• Opened: 1985
• Home team: Richmond Braves, International League
• Capacity: 12,156

Rating: 3 baseballs

Unfortunately, time seems to have passed this place by. While the seating layout is similar to the quite comfortable Lackawanna Stadium and it does have real grass, all the seating here is on shaped aluminum benches. That includes the lower deck. This means serious points deducted from the park, in my view.

There was talk of replacing the seats and making other modifications to the park, which might restore its glory, but the R-Braves were pushing for a new downtown park. When that did not materialize, the club announced plans to move to Buford, Ga. (northeast of Atlanta) in 2009. Already, there are rumors that a Carolina League club might move into The Diamond.