and shelter-in-place orders, it’s been a far different story for the last couple months. However, Poma says, “we aren’t concen-
trating on the negative. Let’s get through this and look forward to the latter half of the summer and see where we are.”
From b-ball to Quidditch It’s understandable why Richmond
Region Tourism is eager to return to normalcy. Last year, 83 sports events brokered by the not-for-profit destination marketing organization brought in more than 171,500 visitors, producing $62.5 million in direct visitor spending across the region. “From Eastern Henrico to Southwest
Chesterfield [counties], we cover a large area, and we attract a lot of different sports — archery, swimming, Quidditch,” Poma says. “That’s because we have a wide variety of venues at our disposal, from River City Sportsplex in Chesterfield to Glover Park in Henrico to Independence Golf [Club] in Powhatan County.” In 2019, the consulting firms Huddle
Up Group and Resonance Consultancy developed a master plan for Richmond Region Tourism that recommended a staffing shift in order to place a greater emphasis on attracting sporting events. “We are definitely an outdoor sports tourism destination,” Poma says. “The plan reflects that. And now Henrico County is building its indoor complex, and that should help to make us a year- round destination.” Henrico’s 220,000-square-foot,
4,500-seat indoor sports arena is slated to open in 2022 on the site of Virginia Center Commons mall. The complex will be designed to accommodate amateur and high school basketball, vol- leyball and other indoor sports tourna- ments and leagues. “Virginia is strong in amateur sports,”
says Johnson of Virginia Tourism Corp. “We don’t have pro teams per se, so we are all about attracting amateurs. The good thing about those events is that, unlike a business conference, people bring their families too.” The potential benefits aren’t lost on
localities. “The competition for a larger slice
Rendering courtesy HKS Architects
of the sports tourism pie has become increasingly fierce,” says Eric Kulczycky, national sales manager for Visit Fairfax. “Destinations across the country, often in cooperation with their local govern- ments, have been entering into a sort of sports facilities ‘arms race’ to offer more tournament-capable venues with large clusters of outdoor fields, indoor courts and other facility types.”
Complex competition Sports are a significant tourism reve-
nue source for Fairfax County and other Northern Virginia localities, Kulczycky says. “We have a number of tournament- capable facilities that allow us to target a variety of sports from soccer, basketball and softball to equestrian, underwater hockey and esports.” The St. James, a privately funded
450,000-square-foot sportsplex, opened in Fairfax in 2018. The county also set up a Sports Tourism Task Force, which recommended a public-private partnership to build an indoor skiing venue in Lorton, as well as a new turfed baseball complex at Patriot Park North and improvements to Fountainhead Regional Park. “Throughout the state, people
are looking at new venues to build or refurbish what they have,” Johnson says. “Virginia Beach is building their new sports center, set to open in November, and they designed that strictly for sports
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tourism and amateur sports.” The new center will be 285,000 square feet with 12 basketball courts, 24 volleyball courts and a 200-meter, hydraulically banked track. And, Johnson adds, Hampton is moving forward with a plan to construct an aquatic center. But Norfolk won’t be entering the
sports complex “arms race” any time soon. “There has been an idea to turn the
Norfolk Scope into a multiplex sports venue that can do the volleyball tourna- ments and compete with Richmond and Virginia Beach for those things,” says Kurt Krause, president and CEO of VisitNorfolk. But for now, it’s just an idea. VisitNorfolk attracts conference
events such as North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) basketball tourna- ments to existing venues like the Scope, where the NEAC’s men’s and women’s tournaments have been held the last three years. “That amateur multiday event in March brings in $3 million from its five-day run,” Krause says, adding that in 2021 the city will be among the Hamp- ton Roads localities hosting the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics, attracting an estimated 18,000 people for a two-week period. Most of the track and field events will take place at Norfolk State University. Norfolk concentrates on its own
built-in sports tourism, he says. “We’re the only city in Virginia that has a
VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 29
In 2022, Henrico County plans to open a 220,000-square-foot, 4,500-seat indoor sports arena aimed at hosting amateur and high school sporting events.
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