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: 1934 (rebuilt 1985)
• Additional names: Parker Field (1953), The Diamond (1985)
• Home team: Richmond Virginians (1953-64), Braves (1966-2008), International League
• Capacity: 9,500 (1950); 12,156 (1991)

Chronological Tour: Stop 20

Rating: 3 baseballs

When I first visited The Diamond, in August 1991, I thought it was one of the greatest things going. The people of Richmond were justifiably proud.

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 Gwinnett Co., Ga. (northeast of Atlanta), in 2009. Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl about future occupants of either The Diamond or a new facility still on the drawing board for Richmond. Most recently, it was announced that a team would move here from Norwich, Conn., for the 2010 season.