Akira Fitzgerald of the Richmond Kickers makes a save at a recent home game. (Photo by Jessica Stone Hendricks)
Despite Richmond’s evolution, population growth and consistent appearances on lists of best places to live, a sticking point for sports fans in the area has been the lack of a Richmond-based professional team in the MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL. Though no teams in the “Big Four” leagues call it home, Richmond is in no way devoid of sports: between multiple professional-level organizations and collegiate sports, athletic events are in session year-round.
Arena and indoor football have existed in Richmond in four different iterations within the past 25 years, though only one lasted longer than four seasons. The Richmond Speed of Arena Football 2 were the first to hit the gridiron in the capital city but folded in 2003. It took until the turn of the next decade for football to grace RVA again, but it did twofold, with the Indoor Football League’s Richmond Revolution and the American Indoor Football Association’s Richmond Raiders.
On the hardwood, the American Basketball Association fielded the Richmond Elite, though the team has been on hiatus the past two seasons in favor of the Richmond Elite Academy, a gym aimed at youth outreach in the community. The team’s status remains undetermined for 2023.
Richmond sports have existed on the gridiron and on the ice in the greatest quantities, with five minor-league hockey teams (the Robins, Wildcats, Rifles, Renegades and RiverDogs) playing for varying spans of time from 1971 to 2009, but baseball has been the longest-tenured pastime in the city.
The Richmond Virginians first took the field in 1954. Primarily a New York Yankees Triple-A affiliate, they played 11 seasons at Parker Field before departing for Toledo, Ohio, and becoming the Mud Hens, an eventual opponent of the incoming Triple-A Richmond Braves.
For 43 seasons, the Braves existed as their Atlanta counterpart’s affiliate, winning five International League titles and fielding such stars as eventual Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz (plus current defending World Series champion manager Dusty Baker), but headed south to an Atlanta suburb, Gwinnett County, Georgia, after 2008.
The Richmond Flying Squirrels take on the Erie SeaWolves. (Photo courtesy Richmond Flying Squirrels)
To The Diamond came the Richmond Flying Squirrels, who began play in 2010 as the Double-A team for the San Francisco Giants. Timing was opportune: the Giants claimed World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and Richmond fans saw stars such as Brandon Belt and Adam Duvall pass through en route to the big leagues. In 2022, playoff baseball returned for the first time since 2014 as the Richmond Flying Squirrels won the Eastern League Southwest Division’s first-half championship in July.
For 2023, the Squirrels’ home opener is set for Friday, April 7, at The Diamond against the Reading Fightin Phils. Advance single-game tickets are priced at $10-$15.
Just a couple miles away, at City Stadium, the Richmond Kickers have played professional soccer since 1993 and reached the playoffs in 2022. Currently competing in USL League One, the Kickers have compiled a winning record over 30 seasons in Richmond.
Several notable athletes have played for the Kickers as they rose through the ranks of soccer, including goalkeeper Matt Turner, who was the primary netminder for the United States men’s national team during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Kickers single-match tickets are $16-$22 on game day and $11 for kids. Children ages 4 and under are admitted free.
Out at Richmond Raceway, engines roar two weekends each year as NASCAR visits for both spring and summer dates and at least one race for all three major series. Xfinity and Cup compete in the spring weekend, held on April 1 and 2 this year, respectively, as well as the Whelen Modified Series on March 31. In the summer, the Craftsman Truck Series will return on July 29, with a second Cup Series race slated for July 30.
The Richmond Black Widows, an all-female football team, return to the field in April. (Photo by Marlene Davis)
Arena-style style football is set to return this year with the Richmond Iron Horses. (Photo courtesy United Football League)
The Richmond Black Widows of the Women’s Football Alliance, billed as “Richmond’s first women’s tackle football team,” have been playing since 2015. Their 2023 schedule begins in April, but their first home game won’t be until May at Hermitage High School. Tickets for the Black Widows’ 2023 campaign are $12, and admission is free to children ages 5 and younger. A pay-per-view option will also be available for home games.
Arena-style football is expected to return to Richmond this spring, with the United Football League’s Richmond Iron Horses set to debut on April 1 at Iron Horse Stadium, a temporary venue. According to the league, the open-air stadium will cost about $1.1 million to build and remove. As of mid-January, a site has not been announced.
