Virginia Mayor Proposes Building Ballpark over Slave Graveyard

But it would include a memorial

RICHMOND, Va. - The mayor of Richmond announced plans Monday to build a minor-league baseball park on the site of a slave market and cemetery, prompting an outcry over what protesters said would be desecration of the area.

Mayor Dwight Jones, a black minister, said the 7,200-seat ballpark would generate badly needed jobs and revenue and include a $30 million memorial. The ballbark is part of a $200 million development in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom neighborhood.

"No one will be left behind," Jones told several hundred supporters who had gathered at the site to hear of the development plans.

The park would be the home of Richmond's Flying Squirrels, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The complex will include 750 apartments and a hotel.