Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, United States, is home to three professional sports teams, though none of which compete in any major professional league.

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

is the most populated state without a major sports team. In 2008, the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

minor league baseball team left for

Gwinnett County, Georgia Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020 United States census, 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the secon ...

, and was replaced by the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

in 2010. But now, the Flying Squirrels' owner has threatened to leave Richmond if they do not replace their current stadium, the Diamond. The

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

are a non-profit soccer team that plays at City Stadium. The Diamond Outfield

Richmond has also come into the national spotlight in recent years due to the success of the region's two Division I college basketball teams, the

VCU Rams The VCU Rams are the athletic teams of Virginia Commonwealth University of Richmond, Virginia, United States. The Rams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The most succe ...

and

Richmond Spiders The Richmond Spiders represent the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. The Spider na ...

. The VCU Rams men's basketball team reached the Final Four of the

2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 teams to determine the national champion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 73rd edition of the NCAA tournament bega ...

, while the Richmond Spiders men's basketball team reached the Sweet 16 of the same tournament. As of 2016, Richmond is also home to its first women's sports team, the

Richmond Black Widows The Richmond Black Widows are a women's American football team playing out of Richmond, Virginia. They are a member of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). They are the first women's football team in Richmond, and currently the only team in Virg ...

. They are in the

Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a professional full-contact Women's American football tackle minor league that began play in 2009. It is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...

and play at

Hovey Field Hovey Field is a stadium in Richmond, Virginia. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Virginia Union Panthers The Virginia Union Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Virginia Union University, locat ...

. The expansion team plays in Tier III of the

and is the National Conference Champion. The

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

hold

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

in Richmond every year.

Professional teams

College sports

Participation sports

Richmond has played host to the Xterra (off-road triathlon) East Championship since 1998 on the trails of the James River Park, and will host the

2015 UCI Road World Championships The 2015 UCI Road World Championships took place in Richmond, Virginia, United States from September 19–27, 2015. It was the 88th Road World Championships. Peter Sagan won the men's road race and Lizzie Armitstead won the women's road race. ...

Sports Backers Sports Backers is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 and located in Richmond, Virginia at Sports Backers Stadium. The mission of the Sports Backers has expanded from its beginnings as a traditional sports commission for economic development t ...

is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 and located in Richmond, Virginia at

Sports Backers Stadium Sports Backers Stadium is a 3,250-seat stadium in Richmond, Virginia. The facility was opened in 1999. Sports Backers Stadium is used throughout the year by various parties including the soccer and college athletics teams from Virginia Commonwea ...

. The mission of the Sports Backers has expanded from its beginnings as a traditional sports commission for economic development to be focused on increasing physical activity to improve the health of area residents. The Sports Backers own Dominion Riverrock, the largest outdoor sports and music festival in the country, the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k, the 8th largest running race in the United States, and the Anthem Richmond Marathon, the 18th largest marathon in the country. The organization owns and produces 15 events.

Former teams

Richmond has hosted several minor pro hockey teams since the 1970s. The

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

Richmond Robins The Richmond Robins were a professional ice hockey team based in Richmond, Virginia. They were a member of the American Hockey League for five seasons from 1971–72 AHL season, 1971–72 to 1975–76 AHL season, 1975–76. Their cross-state rivals ...

played at the

Richmond Coliseum Richmond Coliseum is a defunct arena located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, with a capacity of 13,500 that was most often used for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and the region is looking to replace the aging facility with a la ...

from 1971 to 1976. The short-lived

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

's Richmond affiliate was the Richmond Rifles. The longest-lived and most successful of Richmond's hockey teams were the

Richmond Renegades The Richmond Renegades were an ECHL ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia that played in the East Coast Hockey League from 1990 until 2003. The Renegades played at the Richmond Coliseum, which they marketed in later years as ''the Freezer''. Th ...

of the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

, who played at the Coliseum from 1990 to 2003. After a brief stay by the

Richmond RiverDogs The Richmond RiverDogs were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Richmond, Virginia, that played at the Richmond Coliseum from 2003 to 2006. The RiverDogs were formed during an expansion of the United Hockey League (UHL) in the fall o ...

of the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

from 2003 to 2006, former Renegades owner Allen Harvie attempted to revive the

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

again as a

Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the mid ...

franchise from 2006 to 2009. After the SPHL club left, hockey has been represented in Richmond by the

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

and youth

United States Premier Hockey League The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), ...

organization Richmond Generals at SkateNation Plus in Henrico County. The

Richmond Raiders The Richmond Raiders were a professional indoor football team located in Richmond, Virginia the Richmond Coliseum as their home arena. The Raiders began play in the 2010 as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The ...

, an indoor football team, played out of the

from 2010 until 2015 when it suspended operations. In 2016, the Raiders' ownership announced they would not return. The

Richmond Revolution The Richmond Revolution was a professional indoor football team based in Richmond, Virginia that played in the Indoor Football League from 2010 to 2011. For the 2010 season, they played their home games at the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center. Becau ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

played at the

Arthur Ashe Athletic Center The Arthur Ashe Athletic Center is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1982. It hosts local sporting events and concerts. It is named after former tennis player and Richmond resident Arthur Ashe. The Ashe Cent ...

in 2010 and 2011. The Revolution had been planning to SportsQuest before they disbanded. The

Richmond Roughriders Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

played out of the Richmond Coliseum in 2017 and 2018, hosted the league championship games both years, but did not re-sign their lease when the Coliseum proposed a complete renovation for 2019. There has been minor league baseball at the corner of the Boulevard and Robin Hood Road since 1954. In 1954, the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

Baltimore Orioles moved to Richmond as the

Richmond Virginians The Richmond Virginians was the name of a minor league baseball franchise that played in Richmond, Virginia, from 1954 through 1964. The team competed at the Triple-A level as members of the International League, and were affiliated with the ...

, playing at

Parker Field Parker Field is a 2,500-seat baseball stadium in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. Opened in 1937 for the Yakima Pippins of the Western International League, it hosted various professional and amateur teams in the ...

. The Virginians were part of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

' organization for most of their time in Richmond. After the 1964 season, the team moved to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, as the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. After a year off, the city was the beneficiary of the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

' move to Atlanta, as the Braves' International League franchise, the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

, moved to Richmond for the 1966 season as the

. The Braves played at Parker Field through 1984, after which the old ballpark was torn down and replaced with the concrete-and-steel "temporary" facility, The Diamond. The Braves left Richmond after the 2008 season to return to the Atlanta area as the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

References

{{Richmond Sports

Professional teams

College sports

Participation sports

Former teams

See also

References