The downtown coliseum, owned by the city and operated by private management company SMG, has long been viewed as a lackluster venue in need of replacement, but the city hasn’t been able to afford a new one.

Loupassi, a former Richmond City Council member, said that even though there has been some investment in the facility in the past two decades, without a new infusion of money, the coliseum has reached the end of its useful life.

“It’s over,” Loupassi said. “All you’ve got to do is just drive by it and see. You can see with your eyes the condition of the exterior.”

Though no plan has been announced for a new coliseum, Loupassi said his bill lays the groundwork “to the extent that there may be folks that are working on this.”

“There’s no plan,” said Grant Neely, chief of staff to Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “But the region needs a new coliseum, there’s no doubt about that.”

Richmond’s corporate community has been supportive of efforts to pursue a new coliseum. Thomas F. Farrell II, president and CEO of Dominion Resources who served on the University of Virginia board of visitors when the decision was made to build John Paul Jones Arena, has been a vocal advocate for a new coliseum in Richmond.