× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

The city of Richmond is planning to sign a two-year lease with the Richmond Flying Squirrels that will keep the team playing at The Diamond through the 2016 season, and possibly longer.

Ownership of The Diamond, which opened in 1985, is scheduled to be transferred from the Richmond Metropolitan Authority to the city at the end of this year. That’s also when the team’s lease with the RMA expires, which necessitates a new agreement with the city.

With no resolution in sight to the debate over the construction of a new, minor-league ballpark, the city and the Squirrels are moving ahead with locking in the next few seasons.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones had hoped the team would be playing in a new stadium in Shockoe Bottom by the 2016 season, but the city is now planning for the possibility that the team might still be playing at The Diamond past 2016.

The two sides would have the option of extending the lease with additional one-year terms for up to three years, which means the Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, could potentially still be at The Diamond in 2019.

The lease has not been signed by either party, and the City Council has not yet voted to authorize it.