A local advocate and attorney filed a lawsuit hoping to block the city of Richmond from issuing millions of dollars in bonds to build a new baseball stadium and development district.
Paul Goldman is no stranger to challenging big city projects in Richmond. He helped lead efforts that saw a proposed Richmond Casino get nixed twice. His new lawsuit claims Richmond City Council's approval of $170 million in bonds for a new baseball stadium and development district violates state law and also requires public input.
Richmond City Council, backed by Mayor Levar Stoney, approved the bonds at a meeting Wednesday. The project covers dozens of acres of land and will replace the existing stadium that opened in 1985. It’s a long running demand by the current minor league team the Flying Squirrels and its Major League Baseball counterparts. It also includes millions for the development of public spaces around the new park.
But in his lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon in Richmond City Circuit Court, Goldman claims the city should have held a public referendum on the bonds before approving them.
“All of a sudden, they can issue the biggest general bond ever. For a baseball stadium?” Goldman said.
But Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, also a defendant in the suit, said the city did its due diligence on the project and Goldman is once again trying to stop the city from taking on new economic developments.
According to details provided at Wednesday’s city council meeting, the cost of the bonds would be repaid via local surcharges. Those include a 1$ hotel text and 25 cent meals tax in the new district. The funds would go towards long term maintenance as well.
“We need to focus on the merits of this project, and I think that’s what you saw yesterday, 6-0, unanimous,” he told Radio IQ, calling Goldman a "gadfly."
Among city council members who voted in support of the effort is Andreas Addison.
“This is a risk we’re taking, this opportunity, and I see so much more potential and upside that I think comes out of this,” he said Wednesday.
If the city has its way, the project will break ground in June.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
