Image courtesy Richmond Flying Squirrels
Baseball’s back. Richmond’s Double-A franchise, the Flying Squirrels, returns next week with a five-game series against Connecticut’s Hartford Yard Goats. Safety protocols will make the experience at the Diamond a little different this year, with distanced seating, smaller crowds, mandatory face coverings and other measures. Opening day is sold out, but tickets remain for other games in the series.
Squirrels Chief Executive Officer Todd “Parney” Parnell says he is is excited to see baseball, and everything that comes with it, become a catalyst for healing in the community. “This is going to be the meeting place where you see people from high school, or church, or your family that you haven’t seen in a year,” he says. “The Squirrels are going to be the epicenter for all that.”
The franchise has carefully developed protocols to provide a safer experience at the ballpark, such as socially distanced pods for seating and mask requirements. The park will operate at 30% capacity, allowing for 2,943 attendees.
“We’re being extra safe about it; we want people to be comfortable,” Parnell says.
Along with new safety protocols, new programs and events, such as pop-up markets and jersey giveaways, will become part of the Squirrels experience. The most prominent initiatives honor the Richmond 34. In 1960, 34 Virginia Union University students were arrested after a sit-in protest at the whites-only lunch counter in Thalhimers, a downtown department store. The sit-in influenced civil rights legislation and led to the integration of the store’s facilities. The Flying Squirrels will honor the group throughout the upcoming season, beginning by retiring the No. 34 jersey from on-field use. They will also host a Richmond 34 Legacy weekend; players will don special commemorative jerseys featuring an “End Racism” design, which will be auctioned with proceeds going toward Virginia State University or VUU scholarships.
The organization is also implementing training programs for minority students to facilitate a more diverse Squirrels workforce. In partnership with VSU, the programs began in April.
“Students will apply for the executive training program … and those students will become a pipeline for full-time hires for the Squirrels,” Parnell explains. “We hope to develop a system with Virginia State so that, not just here in Richmond, but other teams around the country can work with their HBCUs to really develop executives so that we’ll have a lot more people leading organizations in a more diverse manner.”
Despite the lengthy shutdown, the Flying Squirrels remain a staple in the community, and their return is much anticipated. Squirrels superfan Ray Edwards is ready to get back to the Diamond.
“They make it fun for everyone. … They’re really involved in the neighborhood and the surrounding areas,” he says. “Two or three groups of us go there early before the games, sit together during the games. It’s a family.”
The schedule this year includes 60 road and 60 home games, the last of which will be on Sept. 12. Single-game ticket pricing ranges from $8 to $15, and availability will be limited. Fans can purchase tickets online at squirrelsbaseball.com/tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or at the ticket offices at the Diamond.