A rendering of CarMax Park transformed as WinterWorld. (Image courtesy 804Live)
The Flying Squirrels’ bid to make CarMax Park a year-round entertainment venue was taken up a notch Wednesday with the announcement of its biggest nonbaseball event yet. And owner Lou DiBella was on hand for it – donning a Santa suit.
The ballclub’s events company, 804Live, held a news conference to announce WinterWorld, a 39-day holiday festival scheduled Nov. 18-Jan. 3, 2027, that will transform the stadium into a winter wonderland with lighting displays, an ice skating “pond,” a six-lane ice slide, 60-foot Ferris wheel, Santa’s workshop and what organizers said would be the largest live Christmas tree in Richmond.
DiBella, making his first appearance at the ballpark since its drama-filled opening night in April, said the event would create a new Christmas tradition for Richmond and establish CarMax Park as a year-round venue.
Entering the room in a full Santa suit and beard, the New York native said Richmond lacked an ice-skating rink and other holiday attractions that he said WinterWorld would provide. He said the goal was to bring a touch of Rockefeller Center, where he once had an office, to RVA.
Squirrels owner Lou DiBella at Wednesday’s announcement. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
“I wanted to see if we could replicate that feeling, that vibe, that whole experience of Rockefeller Center in New York, in Richmond,” DiBella said.
“I’m dressed as Santa Claus because I really do view this, particularly year one where this is honestly a great risk for us, as a present to the fans that helped us get this ballpark built.”
DiBella and his ownership group, Navigators Baseball, are putting more than $3 million into WinterWorld, according to a letter that an attorney for the group sent last month to the Richmond Economic Development Authority, which owns CarMax Park and leases it to the Navigators.
Cleanup and restoration company Servpro is sponsoring WinterWorld, which organizers expect will draw more than 75,000 people. DiBella said Wednesday it would need to draw at least that for the event to break even, though he said breaking even wasn’t the goal for the event’s inaugural year.
“This is an investment in the community. We have promised for 17 years to be good neighbors, good partners, and we have promised our fans and the people that have supported us that we are going to contribute to this community,” DiBella said.
“I’m optimistic that we can put 100,000 people through the turnstiles here. If it’s (65,000) or (70,000), that will still be wonderful,” he said. “That’s 65 or 70 (thousand) that never had this experience before, and I know that we can make that great.”
A rendering of the 60-foot Ferris wheel.
The June 22 lawyer letter, first reported by The Richmonder, was a follow-up to a letter the attorney sent in May expressing the group’s concerns that access to such events would be obstructed by roadwork and other infrastructure upgrades planned later this year at the ballpark’s main entrance.
The attorney said in her follow-up that the Navigators had not received a response from the EDA resolving the issue. In an email earlier that month, EDA Director Angie Rodgers had told the attorney that the work would be scheduled after a mid-October concert planned at the ballpark, and that access afterward could be provided via the ballpark’s VIP entrance near Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
The attorney reiterated that obstructing the main entrance would cause economic harm to the Navigators, who she said would be willing to allow the roadwork to start after the baseball season ends in September so long as at least half of the entrance remains usable for the Squirrels’ annual “Squirrel-O-Ween” event in late October. She added that the work would need to be finished and the entrance fully accessible before Nov. 11 to prepare for WinterWorld.
It isn’t clear where the Navigators’ request stands or whether the city has responded to it. An email to city spokespeople seeking comment late Wednesday was unreturned.
Ticket prices and other details about WinterWorld are to be announced through the summer and fall. A ticket presale is planned for August, and public ticket sales are expected to start in September. 804Live will also work with area nonprofits to provide 5,000 complimentary tickets to the public.
Managing WinterWorld is 804Live President Chris Yancey, whose experience in the entertainment industry includes Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center in New York City and overseeing venues as an executive with Caesars Entertainment. Yancey said the festival would be the biggest event yet at CarMax Park, which he said has hosted over 40 non-baseball events since opening in April.
Yancey said WinterWorld would involve over a million lights, a 13,000-square-foot skating pond and 100-foot six-lane ice slide. The attractions will require removing and replacing the ballpark’s field, DiBella said.
Also planned is a snowball speed pitch, Christmas tree maze, 21-and-older bar, and private spaces for holiday parties. Yancey said the festival would also involve performances from area schools and community groups, as well as participation from local small businesses in a retail village.
“Our vision for WinterWorld is to create a brand-new holiday tradition for the city of Richmond, one that we hope you’ll come back to and we’ll invite our guests back to year after year,” he said.
Added Squirrels senior adviser Todd “Parney” Parnell, who also took part in Wednesday’s announcement: “Richmond deserves a signature holiday destination, and this is going to be it, right here at CarMax Park.”
Parnell and DiBella said the idea for WinterWorld came about two years ago while the ballpark was being planned and designed. DiBella said Wednesday’s announcement had been timed to coincide with the Squirrels’ “Christmas in July” theme night at this Friday’s game.
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