RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Friday marked a "new beginning" for baseball in the River City. Ahead of the Richmond Flying Squirrels playing their final game of the season at the Diamond, city leaders broke ground on what will become the team's new home in 2026, "Carmax Park." 8News attended the highly anticipated ceremony on Friday, Sept. 6. It took place at the massive construction site just across the street from the current stadium. By 2026, that plot of land will be unrecognizable -- and Friday's festivities represented a symbolic first step in that direction. City leaders gave speeches and smiled, calling the "place of promise" a plethora of exciting, adoration-filled names -- including "Nutzy and Natasha's new home." Earlier this week, City of Richmond representatives, baseball leaders and Nutzy and Natasha themselves unveiled the name of Richmond's Flying Squirrels' new ballpark. "Carmax Park" is one piece of the large-scale Diamond District development project. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney called it the "catalyst for the city's future." Then, on Friday, Richmond saw the culmination of "Squirrels Week" at Carmax Park's groundbreaking ceremony. Friends and strangers alike joined together, setting foot on the place representing a new vision for Richmond tourism, entertainment and, of course, baseball. Many have been waiting on this very day for 15 years, so the energy cascading across the vast plot of land was palpable. PREVIOUS: ‘The Squirrels are here to stay,' Introducing Carmax Park, the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ new home Leaders dug shovels in the ground -- representing the end of one chapter and the beginning of an entirely new story. Few people can say they have as strong of a bond with the Squirrels as former CEO Todd "Parney" Parnell. He spoke out at nearly every event leading up to Friday's groundbreaking, including Wednesday's name reveal. "Just know that the journey was a long one, but that it's in our rearview mirror and, today, we're all about the future and what the future is going to bring," Parnell said. He started his speech Friday by laughing at the fact that his notes said to briefly describe that journey. It's been a long and winding road. The initial vision for a revitalized, modern Diamond District began about 15 years ago. However, the project has moved slowly since the beginning. Since then, leaders endured a variety of obstacles. At one point, leaders even feared the city would lose the team after Major League Baseball set a deadline for the Squirrels to have a new, state-of-the-art venue that complies with modern, professional standards. "We're all going to be better now having this new facility," Parnell said on Wednesday. "But I don't think we'd be as strong as we are now if we didn't have to go through with the last 15 years that we went through." Carmax and the Squirrels hosted a "Fan Festival" -- filled with live entertainment, autographs, food and spirit -- across the street, over at the lawn in front of the Diamond, after the groundbreaking.