Владельцы команды Richmond Flying Squirrels подали в суд на город за срыв сроков открытия стадиона

The Diamond District has not been built on the schedule originally envisioned by leaders of the city of Richmond. Now, the owners of the Richmond Flying Squirrels say the city breached its contracts with the team by not sticking to the timeline. The owners, Navigators Baseball LP, filed a lawsuit Friday in Richmond Circuit Court against the city of Richmond, its Economic Development Authority and the Diamond District's real estate developers, saying the delay has caused damages to the minor league baseball team. The Squirrels said they agreed to pay $3.2 million annually in rent and invest at least $10 million in CarMax Park on the belief that the stadium would open as part of a vibrant mixed-use district.  "None of that happened," said Luke Nikas, a New York-based lawyer for the team. Jason Guillot, principal for the Diamond District Partners development team, said he was not aware of the lawsuit Friday afternoon and declined to comment. A spokesperson for the city said she needed more time to respond.  In July, Angie Rodgers, head of the city's Economic Development Authority, which owns the ballpark, asked the Squirrels to turn down the temperature of their disagreements. Their relationship as landlord and tenant has been complicated, she said, urging for cooler heads to prevail.   The Squirrels did not ask for a specific amount of money in their complaint. The action is a separate case from the defamation lawsuit filed earlier this year by the Squirrels' lead owner, Lou DiBella, against Guillot.  The owners made two new allegations in the lawsuit. In 2024, they say, a city official contacted Major League Baseball and accused DiBella of threatening a member of city council. They also say that earlier this week, the Economic Development Authority accused the team of not negotiating with Virginia Commonwealth University in good faith.  Diamond District has faced delays In 2023, the city's Economic Development Authority said construction on the Diamond District, a 67-acre, $2.4 billion mixed-use neighborhood, would begin in 2025, and Phase 1 would open in 2026.  But delays occurred. The city did not sell the first 18 acres to Thalhimer until six months after the projected date. For more than a year, Virginia Commonwealth University delayed selling Sports Backers Stadium, which sat in the middle of the district and prevented the developers from installing utilities and streets. VCU finally offloaded the property in May, and developers quickly knocked it down.  Construction has begun on just one building in the district, a 276-unit apartment building near CarMax Park's right field fence that's set to open in 2028. Developers have not broken ground on the hotel near the stadium's first base line or the retail building planned for the area beyond left field.  Much of the delay, the Squirrels allege, can be traced back to the changing membership of the real estate development team. In 2022, the city awarded the Diamond District's development contract to a group of companies called RVA Diamond Partners. But a key member, Republic Properties, left the group, and a second member, Loop Capital, later said in court filings that it was never actually a member. That left the final company, Thalhimer, to orchestrate the project on its own. Thalhimer has brought on other companies to develop pieces of the district and changed the group's name to Diamond District Partners. The Squirrels allege the city committed fraud by concealing the fact that Republic had left by the fall of 2023.  The delays have hurt the Squirrels' business, the owners allege. Nikas said the Squirrels agreed to pay $3.2 million in rent, one of the highest rent payments in minor league baseball, and invest millions of dollars in CarMax Park based on the premise that the stadium would open as part of a district for entertainment, residences and offices. The city of Richmond built the $140 million CarMax Park largely with revenue from a bond sale, and the city said the Squirrels contributed $10 million. The Squirrels signed their lease in summer of 2024, after the city announced Republic's departure. The baseball team says the delay has impacted fans, too, who have difficulty parking in the district and accessing the ballpark.  Responsibility for maintaining the construction timeline falls with leaders at the city of Richmond and the Authority, the Squirrels said. They alleged the Authority breached its stadium development contract with the Squirrels by not enforcing the Authority's contract with Diamond District Partners or finding a new developer.  "Mayor Avula had the opportunity to clean up the corruption that pervaded the bidding process before he was elected and get the Diamond District on track for completion," Nikas said in the lawsuit. "He didn't."  Suit: DiBella accused of 'harassing' city council member The Squirrels made two new allegations in the lawsuit. The Squirrels say the city and Diamond District Partners have tried to disparage Lou DiBella, managing general partner of the baseball team. In 2024, the Squirrels claim, a city administrator contacted Major League Baseball and accused DiBella of harassing Katherine Jordan, a member of Richmond City Council. The Squirrels say in the lawsuit that after DiBella discovered the membership of the real estate development team had changed, he made several calls to Jordan, but she never picked up. A representative for Jordan said the councilor was unable to comment Friday afternoon.  "The so-called 'harassment' was DiBella's missed calls to Jordan to get answers about defendants' misconduct," Nikas said in the lawsuit. "In short, DiBella discovered the fraud, and defendants responded with false accusations designed to discredit the Navigators and DiBella."  Nikas cited DiBella's separate defamation lawsuit as another instance in which the defendants have tried to discredit the Squirrels' lead owner. In that case, DiBella said a city official falsely accused him of threatening to kill real estate developer Jason Guillot and his family if Guillot did not sell a roughly 1-acre plot of land to the baseball team. Guillot said DiBella threatened him in various ways but never threatened to kill him. Guillot maintains that every claim he reported to the city was accurate.  City says Squirrels aren't negotiating with VCU According to the suit, earlier this week, a lawyer for the Economic Development Authority sent a letter accusing the team of not making a good-faith effort to negotiate with VCU. Under the baseball team's lease agreement with the Authority, which owns CarMax Park, the Squirrels must negotiate with VCU regarding how the Squirrels and Rams will share CarMax Park and split maintenance costs. Though the two sides began negotiating in 2024, they still don't have a deal.  In fall 2025, leaders from the Squirrels, VCU and the city of Richmond gathered to publicly announce they had a deal. VCU, the leaders said, would pay the Squirrels about $300,000 annually for wear and tear. But no deal was ever signed. In January, the Squirrels said they had ended discussions with VCU.  When VCU signed a lease with the Authority for the Rams to play at CarMax Park, the contract called for VCU to finish an operating agreement with the Squirrels by Sept. 1. Otherwise, the lease would terminate immediately. Last week, the Authority decided to give VCU until the end of the year to finish that deal. A spokesperson for VCU said this week that the university is "looking forward to working with all partners to complete the next steps of this important community project."  The lawsuit also addresses the team's plan to host a 39-day holiday festival at CarMax Park. The Authority said it needs to partially block the stadium's main entrance so that workers can install underground utilities for the Diamond District. The Squirrels have asked for an injunction that would stop the city from blocking the stadium gate.  Eric Kolenich  (804) 649-6109 [email protected] The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.