Diamonds aren’t forever. But in the case of The Diamond – Richmond’s baseball jewel – it brought four decades of sports memories to fans both in the city and beyond.

The site of the park itself stretches back a generation to 1954, when Parker Field opened and welcomed a ballclub known as the Richmond Virginians. That franchise had moved from Baltimore and, after two years as an unaffiliated team, they became the Triple-A partner of the Yankees for their final eight seasons in town. The Virginians would relocate to Toledo to become the Mud Hens, but just two years later, Triple-A baseball returned with the Richmond Braves. That franchise was born when the Milwaukee Braves purchased the Atlanta Crackers during their relocation to Atlanta, with the Crackers moving to Richmond as the Braves’ top affiliate. Over the next eighteen years at Parker Field, the Richmond Braves became a fixture of the International League, highlighted by their only title at the ballpark in 1978.

In 1985, Parker Field gave way to a new stadium built on the same site, dubbed simply The Diamond. This ballpark endured challenges too, including storm damage from Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and a frightening incident the following year when a concrete beam fell into the stands, fortunately not injuring any fans. At The Diamond, the Braves quickly added to their legacy, capturing four more International League championships in 1986, 1989, 1994 and 2007. Interestingly, the Braves won titles in the second year after the ballpark opened and again in their penultimate season before leaving town. That departure came after the 2008 season, when the franchise moved closer to its parent club in suburban Atlanta, becoming the Gwinnett Stripers.

As in the past, Richmond didn’t go long without pro baseball. Just one season later, in 2010, the Connecticut Defenders of the Eastern League relocated from Norwich to Virginia’s capital. A name-the-team contest gave birth to the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a nod to the native rodent that glides between trees. The Squirrels brought a new era of baseball to the city, affiliated with the San Francisco Giants since their arrival. They reached the Eastern League finals in 2014, but came up short and are still on the hunt for their first title in Richmond.

The Diamond itself has seen changes too. Once able to hold over 12,000 fans during the Richmond Braves era, the ballpark now lists an official capacity of 9,560, with its highest upper deck seats permanently tarped off. Alongside professional baseball, The Diamond has also been home to the VCU Rams, a rarity among college baseball programs to play full-time in a professional stadium.

This past Sunday, Richmond fans said farewell to The Diamond as it hosted its final homestand. In front of a sellout crowd, the Flying Squirrels lost 5-2 in ten innings to the Hartford Yard Goats, hailing from the same state as where the Squirrels franchise originated. While the ballpark has become a landmark in Richmond over the past 40 years, it lacked many of the modern comforts and amenities now common across Minor League Baseball. That reality will change next spring when the Flying Squirrels move across the street to CarMax Park, beginning a new chapter for both the franchise and the city. The VCU Rams will continue to play at The Diamond, but the expectation is that they too will eventually move next door at some point in the future.

For Richmond, baseball history now stretches nearly seven decades, with the last four at the iconic Diamond. And while diamonds may not truly be forever, the opening of CarMax Park will ensure that baseball’s place in Virginia’s capital will be.

Take a listen to my sit-downs with the voices of the Flying Squirrels, Trey Wilson…

…and Blaine McCormick.

Also be sure to check out my interview with Joe Deck, broadcaster for the VCU Rams baseball team.