City officials, along with county and corporate partners, today received an update from the consulting team that was retained by the Coliseum Study Group to evaluate the long-term options associated with the Coliseum and the Greater Richmond area. Barrett Sports Group, LLC and Populous Architects, P.C. provided the update to the Coliseum Study Group, which consists of a group of private corporations and public sector entities. "The market research thus far supports what we know about Richmond being an optimal location," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "Richmond is a sizable market with limited entertainment options. What we have to do now is get the right facility in the city to put us in a position to capture the events that will expand our tourism footprint where sports and entertainment are concerned." A total of seven potential arena sites in the city of Richmond were reviewed in Phase 1 of the study. The consulting team has narrowed the options down to four locatio...

The Port of Richmond is owned by the City and managed by the Port of Richmond Commission. A special session of City Council is scheduled today to discuss issues related to the lease of the Port. Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement on the matter: “Events in the last two years have resulted in questions concerning the Port’s long-term economic benefit to the City. These events include 1) worldwide economic downturn, 2) loss of the weekly trans-Atlantic shipments, 3) loss of the long-time Port operator, and 4) declining working capital for investments in infrastructure maintenance. “The financial condition of the Port has deteriorated to such a point that it is not generating sufficient revenue to pay its expenses. In June 2010, the City Council appropriated $1 million in general funds to the Port to cover its operating expenses and authorized another $500,000 of in-kind or cash equivalents to address the immediate infrastructure maintenance needs. While this action was n...

~CAA Men's Basketball Championship to remain at Richmond Coliseum through 2014~ The city of Richmond and the Colonial Athletic Association announced today a two-year extension of their agreement to conduct the CAA Men's Basketball Championship at the Richmond Coliseum through 2014. "We are pleased that the CAA has agreed to extend our relationship at this time," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "This is a longstanding and very important partnership for the city of Richmond as well as the Richmond region and we are working to ensure that we will continue to have a relationship well into the future." Last year, Mayor Jones set in motion a plan to address both short and long-term issues related to improving the Coliseum. Investments have been made to improve the current facility for the short-term, and for the long-term, community partners and business leaders are involved in a review to determine the best future approach for the Coliseum structure. “Richmond ha...