Brother can you spare a dime.....

from today's Richmond newspaper...

Got $15 million for a Class AA baseball franchise?

That's about what it's going to take from a potential local ownership group to purchase a Class AA Eastern League club. Minor League Baseball's Tim Purpura said yesterday "We have a league that has been given the permission to explore the [Richmond] territory."

He chose not to identify the league, but it's believed to be the Eastern League. Last year, the Harrisburg franchise of the EL was sold for an EL-record $13.25 million.

Before negotiations involving an EL franchise and the potential local ownership group can progress, Richmond needs to resolve its stadium situation. The Braves after last season moved their Class AAA franchise from Richmond to Gwinnett County, Ga., because of their dissatisfaction with The Diamond. It's highly unlikely another franchise will replace the Braves until a plan for a new stadium has been approved.

Purpura, Minor League Baseball's executive vice president, said as far as he is concerned, Richmond's stadium situation is "status quo."

It's possible that the stadium plan for Shockoe Bottom proposed by the local ownership group, led by Bryan Bostic, could be approved at the Oct. 27 City Council meeting. Discussions regarding that plan are taking place. Bostic's group is interested in a public-private partnership to build a new facility, he said in May. Bostic yesterday declined comment, as he has for months.

The Richmond territory still hasn't been released by the Class AAA International League. "The actual release of the territory will take place upon [the approval] of a team to move into the territory," Purpura said. "It's really more of a technicality. But the Braves and the International League have granted permission to us to permit exploration."

The Eastern League president, Joe McEacharn, said late last month that the EL schedule for 2009 had been finalized, and is "not subject to change. . . . The 12 cities that are on that schedule, that's where we're playing games."

Richmond is not on the schedule. But Purpura said yesterday that "relocation applications and approvals have occurred as late as January or February and clubs played in their new cities [that year]." Rescheduling would "take some effort to work some things out," Purpura said. But he added it could be done.

An independent-league club is a possibility for 2009, if an affiliated club is not available.