One of the signature events in Richmond, the raising of the ball above the Byrd Theater on New Years Eve, will not be happening this year.
One of the signature events in Richmond, the raising of the ball above the Byrd Theater on New Years Eve, will not be happening this year.
“There will be no ball rise for New Years,” said Melissa Savenko, President of the Byrd Theatre Foundation (BTF).
“After consultation with the Carytown Merchants Association (CMA) and several other community partners, it is clear that many in the Carytown and surrounding communities have serious concerns about the Ball Raise,” said Savenko in a press release sent out today. “We are respectful of and share some of those concerns. While it saddens us to eliminate any festive element during such a celebratory time of year, our highest priority is the safety of patrons of the Byrd Theatre, Carytown, and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Raul Cantu, President of the Carytown Merchants Association, shared the BTF’s concerns, saying the cancellation of the event came down to the safety of the businesses and the attendees during the event. While there had been few incidents during past ball-risings, Cantu and the CMA said the entire event had become a liability and it was too much for the collection of small business owners to bear.
“I got a lot of phone calls from neighbors and merchants. We don’t want to be liable. We all agree it’s a great event, but this location is just not the place to have it,” said Cantu
The BTF said about 35,000 people attended the event last year, and Raul echoed the concerns with so many people there and so little space available. “The event has outgrown what it was meant to be… (the space) doesn’t tolerate the amount of people coming,” said Cantu. “Nothing bad has happened, but it’s a potentially hazardous environment. We want to avoid that.”
Cantu said even if a sponsor were to step in, Carytown can no longer house the event. “People are on the streets, people are parking in neighborhoods, climbing on the roofs of businesses, and people are complaining… It’s basically a 45 min event. People show up at 11:30 and leave at 12:15. there’s a real bottle neck there and it’s not safe.”
But there is still some hope for the ball rising happening somewhere else, all the CMA and the BTF need is a venue to place the ball. “We want to put it out there to the public, find someone to carry this one for people to gather and make it a fun event, but we can’t handle it in Carytown, it’s just out of control.”
Todd Schall-Vess, General Manager for The Byrd Theater, similarly hopes to find another venue for the ball rising. – he’s been part of the event, since the city had its first ball rising in 2006. Schall-Vess even foots the bill for the assembly and instillation of the actual ball-rise structure. “I’m thoroughly disappointed at losing this uniquely local event, but if there’s someone who’d like to step forward to provide a place for the ball to go forward I’d be more than happy to talk to them.”
The first ball rising happened after members of RVA Mag worked with Schall-Vess, the BTF, and the CMA back in 2006. The event was held legitimately until 2009, but has since been an informal tradition for Richmonders.
