Ron doesn’t know what to write.
“I’ve been coming here for years,” says the Henrico County resident and minor league baseball fan, poised with a sharpie pen in hand. “What do I say?”
He’s standing with other fans at the so-called 40th anniversary wall inside the Diamond baseball park, where ticket holders have been invited to write personalized farewells to a well used, much-loved and often derided landmark (Ron finally settles for “Go Nutz”). For four decades, the Diamond has been ground zero for baseball in Richmond, first for the Richmond Braves and then Richmond Flying Squirrels.
But soon this ‘ol girl is getting demolished. On Tuesday night, before 7,179 spectators, the Squirrels started a “Diamonds Aren’t Forever” six-game farewell series with the Hartford Yard Goats.
“I’m going to miss the memories that we all made here together,” says Todd “Parney” Parnell, senior adviser and former longtime CEO of the Double-A San Francisco Giants franchise. “We had a lot of adversity to get through but the end result is nights like this, where people are creating memories that last a lifetime.”
Parney can’t hide his giddiness over leaving this place, though. For years, he and the club have advocated for a new ballpark to replace the crumbling Diamond. “For now, it’s time to say goodbye and look back at all of the good times,” he says.
Tuesday was “Time Capsule Night,” and saw the unveiling of a crowd-sourced box of pertinent items to be buried on the site of the impending Carmax Park, the Diamond’s replacement slated to open for Squirrels play on April 7, 2026. The items will eventually include everything from game-used Squirrels bats and balls to a bag of Diamond dirt to bobblehead figurines of club mascots Nutzy and Nutasha, even some Richmond Braves memorabilia (see list below). Oh, and a pair of Parney’s iconic “loud” pants too.
“You know that’s my favorite one,” he laughs.
Unfortunately, the Yard Goats smoked the Squirrels 8-2 on Tuesday night, and, as the season comes to a close, the home team sits near the bottom of the Double-A Eastern League standings.
But the Tuesday evening crowd didn’t care, cheering just as loud for Nutzy’s antics and the nut mascot races as field play. Coming up in the farewell series will be First Responder Night on Wednesday, Cancer Awareness Night on Thursday, RVA Night on Friday, and what is billed on Saturday as “The Biggest Firework Show.”
The Flying Squirrels’ final, sold out, game at the Diamond is slated for Sunday, where both bobbleheads and bags of Diamond dirt will be given away.
Among other things, the Diamond Time Capsule will include:
A 2010-2025 official home white jersey
An official ticket to the final game at the Diamond
An official game-used ball from the final game at the Diamond
An official game-used bat from the 2025 season
An official cap worn during the final game at the Diamond
A Diamond replica giveaway item
A copy of the book, “The Diamond: Miracle on the Boulevard.”
An official CarMax Park groundbreaking base
Official schematics and renderings of CarMax Park
A gameday program from the Squirrels’ inaugural 2010 Season
An official 2025 media guide
A pair of “Parney Pants”
Nutzy and Nutasha bobbleheads
2025 Flying Squirrels team card set
An official lineup card from the “Farewell Series” at the Diamond
A Flying Squirrels foam finger
An official bag of dirt from the Diamond
A front office staff yearbook
A pair of Nutzy gloves and a Nutasha bow
An All-Diamond team plaque
An artist’s rendering of the Diamond by Peyton Millikan
Signed ball from the final Richmond Braves game, signed by mascot Diamond Duck
A Richmond Times-Dispatch article from 2010 about the only female batgirl at the Diamond, Laura Marshall
A mini Richmond Braves bobblehead set: John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Javy López, donated by William Hart
