A rendering of the Atlantic Union Bank Lounge overlooking the field at CarMax Park
Come April, the crack of baseball bats making contact, shouts of stadium vendors and cheers of Richmond Flying Squirrels fans will sound from a new venue along Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
The team kicks off its 2026 Double-A Minor League Baseball season at CarMax Park. The newly built home field is located just steps from The Diamond, which hosted the Richmond Braves from 1985-2008 and the Squirrels from 2010-2025. On the heels of their final season at The Diamond, filled with 40th anniversary celebrations and fan-centric farewells to the city’s beloved ballpark, the Flying Squirrels move slightly south to the long-awaited new stadium.
“This is a passion piece for all of us, especially the ones that have been here for so long,” says Chief Operating Officer Ben Rothrock, who has been with the Squirrels since the beginning. “For me, this is a pride and joy. It’s something that we’ve really put a lot of effort and energy into. … It’s an exciting time.”
The new ballpark has been in the making for decades, with potential plans dating back to the days of the Braves. After years of “stop-and-go” progress, fans got the chance to sign the final beam for CarMax Park in early 2025. The Squirrels plan to settle into the facility in late February, followed by some soft-opening events before the official Opening Day on April 7.
The Diamond almost exclusively hosted ballgames during its 40 years, but with less than 70 dates on the CarMax Park calendar reserved for Squirrels games in 2026, the new site is aimed beyond just baseball.
“It really is an entertainment venue,” Squirrels General Manager Anthony Oppermann says. “The opportunities to host larger-scale concerts with potential capacities upwards
of 12,000 or 13,000, small jazz concerts and comedy shows at the backstop behind home plate, … conferences, weddings, bar mitzvahs — the opportunities are endless.”
A rendering of the stands at CarMax Park
For baseball games, one of the key features is the wider, walkable concourse that encircles the field, where fans can get up from their seats without missing a minute of the on-field action. “The 360-degree concourse is a game changer,” Oppermann says. “Whether you’re in the outfield bleacher seats or the terrace lawn, standing in the patio down the left-field line above the visiting bullpen; or in the traditional fixed seats around the first- and third-base sides of the ballpark, there is not a bad view in the entire venue. This is going to be so much more intimate [than The Diamond].”
While the players enjoy upgraded facility amenities, fans can get a unique perspective with perks including premium seating, nearly eye level with the dirt at home plate or field-level dugout suites. The 6,000-square-foot Atlantic Union Bank Lounge will serve as a multipurpose event space.
“Richmond’s waited a long time for this, and we think Richmond deserves the best,” Oppermann says. “I think there are elements of CarMax Park you can find in other minor-league venues, [but] what sets CarMax Park apart is you don’t find all the things that [the stadium] is going to have inside of it … in one minor-league venue.”
The stadium will feature bigger seats, more spacious rows and more restrooms than The Diamond.
“This is really going to be something very different than what we’ve ever experienced here in Richmond — almost different from anything in the country,” Rothrock says, adding that the team aims to provide a major-league experience in a smaller footprint. “You’re going to be able to walk the entire way around the ballpark, see different elements and experience different portions of this facility almost every single night of the week — you can have a different experience every single night.”
The Diamond originally served as home to the Richmond Braves.
Other points of focus include ease of parking and fans’ ability to get in the ballpark; the Squirrels have also pushed all game times back half an hour for 2026. Additionally, The Diamond had just four primary food lines, two on the first-base side and two on the third-base side; the CarMax Park team is working to streamline the dining experience.
“Richmond’s a foodie city, and this is an opportunity for us to elevate our food and beverage operations,” Oppermann says. “Not only does the food need to be good, but we need to get people in and out of lines as quickly as possible. The good news is, no matter where you’re at in CarMax Park, you’re going to have an incredible view of the field.”
Rothrock says the Squirrels staff has noticed more fans walking across the bridge on the Boulevard to games in recent years, especially with the growth of Scott’s Addition.
“You can see dozens of people coming at a time,” he says. “They just come in droves on any given night. It’s really cool to see. I think with all these other apartments and developments — not just in Scott’s Addition, but also adjacent to that — it’s just going to help strengthen numbers. … I think that has helped the entire structure of who we’ve become.”
For the entire Flying Squirrels staff, Opening Day 2026 can’t come soon enough.
“Even though it was a longer runway, … I don’t think we would have had the facility that we do now had we started on this project [sooner],” Rothrock says. “I’m just going to be so excited to see the expressions on people’s faces as they walk through the gates for the first time.”
