Henrico’s $50 million sports activities and occasions area is predicted to open q4 within the Fairfield District, close to Virginia Heart Commons. The 185,000-square-foot Sports activities & Occasions Heart has been below building since January 2020 and garnered massive quantities of hobby from organizers since its conception.
In truth, Dennis Bickmeier, director of Henrico’s Sports activities and Leisure Authority, has already secured a minimum of 40 weekend occasions thru 2024 — together with the Atlantic 10 Ladies’s Basketball event in 2024 and 2025.
“We now have were given a ton of basketball and volleyball booked,” Bickmeier stated. “We even were given indoor football. Who knew indoor football performed on hardwood? I assumed that was once lovely cool.”
Henrico Board of Supervisors officially established the SEA in September 2022 to spice up sports activities tourism and set up the county’s rising choice of leisure amenities. Dennis Bickmeier was once quickly named the authority’s government director.
With prior enjoy as president of Richmond Raceway since 2011 and positions throughout the Michigan Global Speedway, Auto Membership Speedway, Large West Convention and several other primary league sports activities groups, Bickmeier says Henrico is slowly setting up itself as a a success hall for sports activities programming and occasions.
“I feel this sports activities heart is truly going to be a luck tale. We have not had a facility like this within the area ever,” Bickmeier stated. “It is 115,000 sq. toes of playable hardwood area, 12 basketball courts that may convert to 24 volleyball courts and it’s revitalizing Virginia Heart Commons.”
One a part of that revitalization comes from the sheer quantity of income Henrico generates from its sports activities, leisure and tourism actions. In 2021, Henrico hosted 160 tournaments that generated just about $60 million in financial expansion, exceeding the county’s document prime of $66.2 million in 2019.
Richmond Area Tourism Group, a nonprofit that research the area’s hospitality business, estimates that over 16.9 million guests spent $2.9 billion throughout that very same duration.
“That roughly financial have an effect on is helping stay the tax base low for our citizens,” Bickmeier stated. “The area has carried out an excellent process relating to sports activities tourism. We now have been blessed with some nice outside amenities right here in Henrico. And now we are transitioning to a brand new indoor facility.”
Henrico’s outside fields are simply as necessary to its indoor occasions areas, stated Bickmeier. During the last 5 years, the county has invested over $100 million in park improvements.
In 2016, the Board of Supervisors allotted $87.1 million of bonds for park initiatives just like the now-completed highschool box turf installations and the Dorey Park baseball stadium. Any other $37 million will cross to a brand new park within the 3 Chopt house, and enhancements to Deep Backside Park in Varina and Tuckahoe Creek Park as a part of the county’s 2022 bond referendum.
John Zannino, director of Henrico’s Parks and Game Division, stated a part of what makes Henrico a stupendous vacation spot for sports activities is its various choice of fields and arenas.
“Our amenities are necessary to Henrico’s talent to draw and take care of our portfolio of tournaments,” stated Zannino. “The connection between Game and Parks and the SEA is our secret sauce and what makes Henrico such a success. We paintings hand and hand to improve the tournaments and actions the SEA draws.”
Along its parks, the county has additionally licensed development a 17,000-seat enviornment building to draw further mixed-use tendencies, resorts and leisure amenities.
With regards to expansion, Bickmeier stated the county is emerging as a pacesetter competitor within the area. As puts like Richmond glance to spend money on its personal arena-anchored district, Bickmeier stated it’s necessary Henrico take a regional view on the best way to maintain its expansion and probabilities.
“I feel that our greatest problem at this time is simply festival,” Bickmeier stated. “Who is aware of what number of of those indoor amenities are going to pop up? So we should be good about our expansion.”
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