Will Richmond be getting a new $55 million baseball stadium?

Don’t bet on it.

Despite an agreement announced Monday, the Richmond Flying Squirrels appear to be no closer to getting a replacement built for The Diamond than when the baseball team moved here seven years ago.

The Flying Squirrels are the AA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Seeking to revive interest in a project that largely has been dormant since the last effort to build a new stadium floundered two years ago, the Flying Squirrels signed an agreement with Virginia Commonwealth University to stay in Richmond for at least 30 years “once a new ballpark is constructed.”

Under the deal, VCU is to take the lead in locating land for the stadium and in contracting with a third party to develop the land and construct a new stadium.

No specifics were provided as to where the stadium might be located — except that it would not go on the 60-acre site where The Diamond now stands, a site the city is marketing for development into a $300 million residential, office and retail complex.

The agreement also provided no insight on how the stadium would be paid for or whether taxpayers in Richmond or the region might have to contribute.

The only mention of money is a promise from the Flying Squirrels to pay $1 million a year in rent if the stadium is built — four times the current rent it now pays the city.

For VCU, the stadium also would be home for its baseball team and potentially provide space for outdoor concerts and other activities, according to the agreement.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones called the deal “a significant step forward for baseball in the Richmond region” that would guide the final stages of planning for a new ballpark.

In reality, he cannot offer any assurances about the agreement because his term as mayor ends on Dec. 31. It would be up to his successor and the newly elected City Council to decide what role — if any — the city might play.

Mayor Jones’ last effort to build a new stadium in Shockoe Bottom for the team failed under the weight of opposition by the public and City Council.

So far only one candidate for mayor, Levar Stoney, has indicated much interest in making the city a contributor to the project, though he said Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties also would have to pitch in equally. Mr. Stoney said earlier this week he helped bring the parties together that led to the agreement.

By contrast, mayoral candidate Joseph D. Morrissey, the acknowledged frontrunner, said he’d be happy if a new stadium were built, but only if private funds are used.

“I want it to be clear that a Morrissey administration would reject the use of public funds for the latest baseball stadium project being supported by Mayor Jones. I will not support professional sports projects with city funds no matter how camouflaged,” he said Tuesday.

In his view, public funds need to be reserved for rebuilding schools, which seemed to be the view of most other candidates.

Candidate Jack Berry, who supported the Shockoe Bottom stadium plan, pronounced the new agreement “fantastic,” but added that the city’s now limited ability to borrow should be preserved for school construction.

The money question is a big one, particularly because the $1 million a year rent from the Flying Squirrels would appear to fall far short of repaying a loan to construct a stadium.

Financial experts have told the Free Press that a public body generally must repay about $1 a year for every $10 borrowed with bonds. By that rule of thumb, a $55 million stadium would require an annual repayment of $5.5 million in principal and interest.

Whether VCU could generate enough revenue to cover the debt without financial help from Richmond and/or its county neighbors is a big question.

In recent years, county leaders in Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties have shown little interest in investing in an expensive replacement for The Diamond, even if the vast majority of fans at Flying Squirrels games live outside the city.

For many, pouring money into a new home for the Flying Squirrels does not seem like a sound investment, given repeated studies that have shown that sports stadiums do not pay for themselves and require heavy subsidies.

As for the site of a new stadium, there is speculation that the target would be the current home of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control headquarters and warehouse at Robin Hood and Hermitage roads.

Whether that is a realistic location also is a question. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has yet to propose building a replacement ABC complex elsewhere. Still, it is all speculation until the General Assembly approves moving the ABC complex and funding the development.

It is possible another large site that could provide the space for the stadium and parking might be available. But it has yet to be identified.

Without land, the stadium would just remain a pipe dream.