Richmond Flying Squirrels fan Terry McAuliffe wants the team to remain in Virginia’s capital city. And McAuliffe, who by day is the governor of Virginia, is all in as far as the effort to retain the team goes.
“They could not make this any clearer. We cannot lose the Squirrels,” McAuliffe said in an interview with Richmond radio station WRVA on Thursday.
“We’re Richmond. Are you kidding me? How do you lose a ball team? Is that a good message?”
McAuliffe offered the use of the Executive Mansion to get the city and the team together to discuss the next steps on possible next steps.
Richmond is moving forward with plans to redevelop the 60 acres of public land that includes the Squirrels’ current home at The Diamond.
McAuliffe said Thursday that he doesn’t :want to step in where I’m not supposed to. But you know, I love Richmond. I love the Squirrels.
“Let me know, I’d love to get everybody in a room and see if we can’t hammer this out,” McAuliffe said.
The Squirrels issued a statement late Thursday welcoming the governor’s “enthusiastic support for keeping the team in Richmond in a new stadium.”
“The governor has been a great fan and we love seeing him around the ballpark,” the statement read. “The recent public hearings have shown overwhelming support for keeping the Richmond Flying Squirrels on the Boulevard; we are grateful to all those who have rallied behind us. We want nothing more than to work with all the interested parties to find a solution that makes that a reality for our fans.”
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Chris Graham
