The city is accepting plans for developing the area around The Diamond, and among them is a proposal from former City Manager Robert Bobb.

Bobb is thinking big. And he is hitting all the right buttons to get as many groups on board as possible.

Bobb envisions a sports complex that includes a new baseball stadium, a new Arthur Ashe Center, complete with a 200-meter indoor track and swimming pool, a tennis facility for VCU and a basketball arena for Virginia Union.

But that's not all. Bobb also sees a hotel, shops and a "big-box" retailer with a 200,000-square foot store.

Oh, and the streets will be paved with gold, everyone in the region will get free cable (or, failing that, we'll get all the channels back on basic cable that have been moved to the digital band), and french fries and cheeseburgers will become health foods.

Don't get me wrong. It would be fabulous to have all that, especially the cheeseburger and french fry deal. But we've seen such plans before. They always get hung up on one small detail - money.

No one has a cost figure on all this construction, but massive comes to mind. No one has an idea how to finance it, but a special tax district has been mentioned.

That sounds nice. No tax money is used up front, so taxpayers think they're getting all this for free.

One thing gets overlooked in the euphoria of all these new buildings. The taxes collected by all the shops, restaurants, retailers and pretzel sellers in that special tax district do not go into the city's coffers but instead pay off the debt on all these facilities.

The public helps pay off the private company's loans. If only we could get such deals on our home mortgages.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, although that might be among the proposals as well.

About 5 miles from The Diamond, at the other end of Boulevard, is the region's greatest natural resource, asset and potential sports and recreation revenue stream, no pun intended.

The James River already is here. It's been here for centuries. It's hard to miss.

"It's our Central Park," said Jon Lugbill, executive director of the Richmond Sports Backers.

Few have a better sense of the river than Lugbill. He is a former world class white-water canoeist, and he trained for the Olympic trials on the James River.

The Sports Backers make extensive use of the river and the James River Park system for events, including the XTERRA triathlon competition and the National Duathlon Festival, which was held a week ago.

The James is not suited to host such events as Olympic kayak trials, as Charlotte did in its man-made waterpark.

"But 364 days out of the year, I'd rather have what we have," Lugbill said. "The James River will help Richmond generate revenue because people want to live near it, bike, run and hike on it and see nature around it.

"If we take care of the river, good things will happen."

There always will be debate on the best course for development on and around the river. And while taking care of the river always is a challenge, it is imminently possible to do.

Constructing a grandiose athletic/retail complex is a fabulous idea, but it's almost impossible to do.

One project does not preclude the other. But before we start investing time and money in new concrete and steel, we should first carefully develop what we already have.
Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com.