Braves-Nats: Richmond in the Balance
As highlighted by Eric at Off Wing, Basil at Nationals Inquirer (based out of my old stomping grounds in Midlothian, VA) noted Monday that the Atlanta Braves just signed a radio deal with Richmond’s WRNL-AM 910, to complement their AAA farm team in Richmond and its deal with WXGI-AM 950. He points out that this is the first time in ages that the A-Braves have appeared on Richmond radio, and wonders if they’re not trying to protect the Virginia capital, just 90 miles south of the new kids in the NL East, as Braves country.
I think Basil at NI is one shrewd guy. Little by little, Richmond is becoming a DC exurb, and it’s only natural that they will eventually view the Nationals as their home team, similar to the Carolina Panthers’ takeover of the entire state of North Carolina despite major protests in eastern NC when the team was launched and displaced the Redskins from the NFC’s TV deal. Pre-Nats, Virginia outside the 703 area code has historically leaned slightly more toward the Braves than the Orioles, especially since the early ’90s when Atlanta started winning. So Atlanta has quite a bit to lose here, hence the territorial play.
The next catch is that Atlanta and the Richmond Metropolitan Authority have been locked in a 3-4 year battle over the R-Braves’ future in the city. The Diamond, built in 1985, isn’t really a bad park (other than the drainage problem last summer), it just suffers from being one of the last built before the post-Camden Yards revolution in baseball stadium design. Atlanta has made veiled threats to move the team if their demands for a new or heavily renovated stadium aren’t met, using ex-AA Greenville, SC as an object lesson. But now with the Nats 90 miles north, the RMA has a trump card: if the A-Braves won’t be reasonable, the RMA can just dial 202.
9 February 2005 / 0 Comments / Tags: baseball