How About a Ring Around The Diamond?

Thinking about a stunt to dramatize the opposition to a Shockoe Bottom stadium and the widespread sentiment to keep baseball on the Boulevard, a friend (Larry Rohr) and I walked completely around the Diamond a few months ago. Staying on public property, it took something a little less than 1,000 strides of about three feet each.

The reason we were counting the steps it took to encircle the Diamond was that we guessed each step would represent one person. Thus, we determined it would take about 1,000 people to surround the Diamond, while standing/parading on public property.

Voila! A ring around The Diamond.

If people showed up on a day with no baseball game -- flash-mob-style -- carrying signs, beating drums and tooting horns, chanting slogans, seeing old friends and meeting new ones, etc., I bet that party-like scene would appeal to photographers. Some of those shutterbugs might be on the job shooting still or moving pictures for the media. We could create one of those pictures-worth-a-thousand-words moments. Once it gets underway, via the Internet, messages would be flying around town saying, "join us!"

Note: July 26 and 27 are the next Saturday and Sunday when the Flying Squirrels are on the road (Erie). If it happened on one of those two days the stunt shouldn't interfere with anything, so the authorities would probably not try to stop it.

Let's say the whole thing would take an hour, or so. Virtually no money would need be spent and hopefully no laws would be broken. Unlike a referendum, which would only permit voters in the city to participate, this stunt would allow for anyone who cares to join in the fun.

For all the folks who’ve stood on the sidelines, watching this 10-year-old debate drone on, feeling frustrated, because they wanted to do something, anything! to make it stop, this could be your chance. If 2,000 people show up we could put two rings around the Diamond, etc.

While City Council and Mayor Dwight Jones continue to stall and strike poses, we the people could do something. And, it wouldn't be fun to see it/make it happen?

Update: Weather permitting, 2 p.m., on July 27, would be as good time as any to do this. Of course, it would require that people do more than just post their opinions on Facebook and complain to their friends. It would take an hour, or so, of your time on a Sunday afternoon to create an event that would be memorable.

Update: It's going to happen. To visit the Facebook event page, A Ring Around the Diamond, click here.