A year after Major League Baseball aired the possibility of the Richmond Flying Squirrels leaving the City of Richmond if a contract could not go forward for a 2026 stadium, an exclusive naming-rights deal is changing both parties fortunes thanks to Richmond-based auto-retailer CarMax.

Announced by CarMax and the Squirrels in early September, the deal secures an essential part of the latter’s monetary revenue stream to lease the new CarMax Park at $3.2 million a year for the first decade, one of the highest leases in Minor League Baseball, per Richmond Times Dispatch.

“Our long-term partnership with CarMax allowed our future home to become a reality,” said Flying Squirrels President Lou DiBella to CBS 6 news.

The stadium will accommodate a 360-degree view of the field, more than 2000 parking spaces, and more than 20 suites, including a dugout suite. 

Once the new stadium opens, sometime before the start of the 2026 MiLB season in April, the Richmond-based team plans to host a variety of community events daily in order to supplement additional money to lease the ballpark. 

The Squirrels already host a variety of non-baseball events, from firework shows to the third annual “Dinner on the Infield.” With plans to host even more, DiBella dubbed CarMax Park as the social center of the city. 

Redevelopment of the Diamond District hasn’t been an easy task, legal challenges have plagued the project. A lawsuit, which has since been thrown out, challenged the City’s plan to use $130 million in bonds to pay for phase one of redevelopment.

But now that legal issues are behind the City of Richmond, the redevelopment will proceed in a similar fashion to the adjacent Scott’s Addition, one of the former industrial-commercial sections of Richmond that saw a transition to high-density housing. The $2.4 billion project to redevelop the Diamond District will provide more to Richmond than a stadium, developers expect to construct more than 1,200 housing units, a hotel, and retail stores to the City, per ABC 8 news.

“For years now, Richmonders have been clear that they want a state-of-the-art stadium for the Flying Squirrels and a vibrant new neighborhood for all Richmonders to enjoy. Now we are on track to deliver a game-changing development for our city,” said Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney in an official press release.

In addition to CarMax Park, city officials broke ground for a new 7,500-person capacity amphitheater in late January. Both the ballpark and the amphitheater represent a new era for entertainment downtown, and city officials are optimistic for the opportunities that this investment will present for the River City.