The Atlanta Braves' Triple-A team plans to move from Richmond to Gwinnett County, Ga., in 2009. We learned that in mid-January. Atlanta's decision-makers announced they would wait no longer for firm plans to replace The Diamond, home of the R-Braves since 1985.

What's yet to be determined is how this may affect interest in the Richmond Braves during the upcoming season, which begins April 3 at The Diamond. Will the R-Braves' home attendance be influenced by the club's lame-duck status?

A fair first snapshot may be available by mid-June, roughly halfway through the season. A final analysis will come on Sept. 1, the scheduled date of the R-Braves' last regular-season game at The Diamond.

To gauge preseason attitudes of potential R-Braves ticket-buyers, The Times-Dispatch conducted an informal poll of 100 local residents. Results suggest there will be no major attendance backlash in response to the R-Braves' pending relocation. There could be a slight boost in attendance.

Eighty of 100 said they will continue to support the R-Braves as much or more than they have in past years. Of those 80, 38 said they would be more inclined to attend an R-Braves game in 2008. Twenty of 100 said they would be less inclined to attend R-Braves games.

Richmond Braves General Manager Bruce Baldwin yesterday didn't sound surprised by the results. Despite the club's situation, he said season-ticket sales have increased compared to 2007. "It's not hundreds," Baldwin said. "It's a handful."

He added there are about 1,900 R-Braves season-ticket holders. Baldwin said he couldn't pinpoint the reason for the increase.

The Times-Dispatch poll could have been conducted at Little League complexes, college baseball games or other athletic events. But the T-D wanted a cross-section of area residents, not just those obviously interested in baseball or devoted sports fans.

So we went to the Easter Parade.

Only adults (21 and older) were polled -- 60 men, 40 women, white, black, Hispanic. We even polled the Easter Bunny, a clown on stilts, Uncle Sam, Ronald McDonald and a large man wearing a kilt held up by a belt with an animal-head buckle.

An inquiry was printed on an index card with a Richmond Times-Dispatch logo. Voice inflection could not lead to a specific response. Those who identified themselves as visitors to the area were not included.

The R-Braves' situation was briefly described on the index card, and those to whom it was shown then chose one of three options that followed: They will be more inclined to attend an R-Braves game, less inclined to do so, or the circumstances will have no effect on their attendance decisions.

"I don't follow sports at all," one man said. "I've never even heard of the Richmond Braves."

We left him out. From comments made and knowing nods, the polled 100 seemed to have knowledge of the R-Braves' relocation and the basic reason for it. Some expressed disappointment in the way the Braves and/or area leaders handled the stadium issue.

Among them was one man who said, "I'm not going back, and I was a season-ticket holder."

But of those who indicated the club's move would affect their ticket-buying habits, nearly twice as many (38-20) said they would be more inclined to attend R-Braves games in 2008 rather than less inclined because this will be the final season to do so, and they enjoy the product.

After making choices, regardless of option selected, an uncalculated but large percentage of the polled 100 said this or something comparable about the R-Braves, a spring-summer fixture here since 1966:

"We're sure going to miss them."
Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or joconnor@timesdispatch.com.