Olympic facility proposed
Eva Russo / Times-Dispatch
Kevin Lee, right, leads the pack followed closely by his cousin Patrick Lee during Team Virginia’s speed skating practice at SkateNation Plus, in Glen Allen.
Published: December 23, 2008
Construction on a $100 million, 50-acre Olympic training facility in the Waterford Business Center in Chesterfield County could begin in February.
The project at Route 288 and Powhite Parkway, announced yesterday at Chesterfield's Department of Economic Development, is the brainchild of Steve Burton, CEO and chairman of SportsQuest, a company he developed for this purpose.
Burton, a psychologist who owns several businesses, says he will provide a large portion of the startup cost of the project with equity.
He also said he is negotiating a loan from Bank of America and help from Olympic sponsors. He would not, however, discuss specific financial partners.
Chesterfield officials have yet to decide whether the county will contribute financially to the project.
"That is currently under evaluation," said Economic Development Director E. Wilson Davis Jr., who noted that the facility could generate 500 new jobs for the county. "We're evaluating what the impact will be on the county, and how we will participate."
Burton, a Chesterfield resident, is purchasing the land for the first of three phases for the project, which would include an ice skating rink, aquatics center, sports medicine clinic, fitness center and family entertainment center.
Later phases would include a 6,000-seat arena for sports and special events; a hotel; a retail plaza; indoor/outdoor tennis facilities with stadium seating; and a 50,000-square-foot field house.
The Chesterfield Planning Commission must approve the plan.
SportsQuest has the land under contract, said Mark Slusher, vice president of TGM Realty Investors, which owns the property.
"We wouldn't enter into a deal if we didn't think it would come to fruition," he said.
The contracted architect, HKS Inc. Sports and Entertainment Group in Richmond, wouldn't comment on the project yesterday. HKS is building the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium.
While the land is already sufficiently zoned for the proposed uses, the Planning Commission will need to approve a schematic plan before the project can move forward.
Davis said the county would be looking to "fast-track the process."
The facility is being designed to host national and international championships and Olympic trials.
Selected Olympic candidates would reside in an on-campus, 200-room hotel and train for free, Burton said.
Programming for the general public in child fitness, adult fitness and recreation would be offered, as well as sports medicine services. The idea is that revenue from recreation leagues, county programs and major events at the venue would help supplement the high-level athlete training, which would in turn serve as a draw.
The plan marks the latest in a series of sports-friendly moves by the county, which recently approved a major facility for youth soccer and swimming and contracted the help of the Richmond Sports Backers to develop a sports tourism plan.
Burton said the plan has been in the works for two years and that it was conceived while he watched speedskater Apolo Ohno in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Burton said Chesterfield was the right place for the project because a major sports venue is something the region needs.
"It's a great place to live. I want to watch Olympic sports. And frankly, Richmond has had a challenge of getting sports programming," he said. "It's been hard to get a big enough group of people to band together and support high-level sports programs."
Said Chesterfield County Adminstrator James J.L. Stegmaier: "We are very excited about the opportunities this project will make available to Chesterfield citizens as well as the region and state. We look forward to working with Dr. Burton to develop his vision of 'the Olympic Dream.'" Contact Fred Jeter at (804) 739-2219 or .
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or .
Staff writer Peter Bacqué contributed to this report.
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Reader Reactions
I am a swimmer in chesterfield county, and my head coach is one of the businessmen who has been working to create this facility. For those who are skeptical about its success in this economy, I think you have to realize that for a large part the athletes training at this facility are going to be those who have were already economically stable enough to train in their sport for many years in the past, and are only going to continue to train in the future. Olympic training is immune to recessions because if there are people who can’t afford to pay for high level training, there will always be people to replace them. In addition to providing a training facility for Olympic athletes, it will be an excellent way for kids and teens to get involved in sports. I know my swim team will be training there with kids ages 5 to adult, and I’m sure there will be other club-type sports programs there too. And to you Transplant, my coach has told me that they already have the loan, they already have the land, and all they need is approval from the county. You should try researching a topic before you say things like that.
I am a huge sports fan—-but you have to dyour homework!
1) What a pie in the sky—what are we putting Colorado Springs out of business?
2) I dont see a huge Sportsbacker support—with out them-it is a no go!
3) Have you looked at economy lately
4) Fairfax Co.—the richest in the state is getting rid of Indoor track
5) What about Regional cooperation—are then in on it??
Transplant! Lighten up man! As it turns out, events at the Glen Allen facility will probably be moved to the new facility - it’s the same people behind both - Hope to see you there at the opening.
Check out the cycling facilities too!
It’s all complementary - speedskating and cycling are sister sports. The Velodrome will be very cool indeed - and you can’t say we have a glut of those.
Cyclist
For all you boosters out there, check out the number of existing speed skating facilities in this country.
https://webpoint.usspeedskating.org/wp/events/listmeets.asp
And there is a need for another mega-facility given a preexisting track in Glen Allen? Sure thing!
WOW. I lived in a town with an olympic training site. it will be a great exerience for richmond. on a campus this large there could be over a dozen sports going on at a time. there will be something for everyone. having it in one spot will drive efficiency in program cost and program delivery. if they do it right my family and i would be happy to plunk down the same that we spend on an evening for dinner and a movie to watch olympic sports. both of my kids would love to be able to participate in the sports on the campus. i can’t waut. how can we help.
you can go to their web site and see more detail: http://www.sportsquest.biz
Dear Transplant - I am happy to report that Richmond is, in fact, a “hotbed” of speed skating, thanks to the efforts of Steve Burton, among others, who have established a growing and highly competitive speed skating program right here in River City. Steve can give you the numbers, but if I’m not mistaken we have more national level speedskaters training in Richmond than any other city in the US, thanks in no small measure to Steve’s efforts. Just one more surprising fact about Richmond! And as more news comes out about this project, you will see that there is lots more to it than just speedskating.
Thanks for sharing this bright spot in a difficult time. It’s fantastic to see someone willing to make this kind of local investment and chase a dream which can provide a local and national benefit. This would bring in outside spending to the community and help the tax base in addition to providing construction jobs and many permanent jobs. Let’s get behind the guy who is trying to live the American dream and trying help others to do so. Kudos to Chesterfield for participating in something with this type of vision. Let’s let the Olympic Committee, developer, and other officials be the ones to decide if Richmond is the right place for certain sport training facilities. Think of the positive impacts this could have. This could encourage healthier lifestyles, provide world class training and competition venues, and who knows, maybe even inspire and help your kids chase their own Olympic dream. Certainly there are worse things that could happen to this community. If this is going to be built anywhere, lets bring it here! I’m in!
This seems like a great idea, but with the current economy, who can afford this? Granted, private money is going to build the facility, but when complete, it’s not going to operate off thin air. It will cost money to use the facilities, purchase equipment to participate in the activities, and maintenance will cost, too. The best way to provide places for activities is to use extisting schools’ activity fields, gyms, and other facilities, which lie dormant many days and weeks of the year. Even if the schools collect a modest fee, it’s certainly cheaper than this boondoggle. This is speculative building; I hope the banks don’t provide the money for this. This is exactly how we got into the mess we’re in now—speculative building in an uncertain economy. We don’t want to bail out a sports facility! Come on, are you really serious for Olympic-style trials?? If the county falls for this, they will end up with a white elephant on their hands. Steve Burton must have money to burn to dream this up.
An opportunity to participate and watch dozens of summer and winter sports in our own backyard is a great idea. I really like the focus on family; Richmond is a great place to live and for active families it just got a lot better.
I sincerely hope this facility is built and thrives. I have taught physical education at the elementary level in Chesterfield County for 25 years. I have seen the need for there to be a variety of sports and activities to interest and motivate the youngest residents of Chesterfield County. Not all children want to play soccer or baseball. To have the option of learning skills with the potential to compete in cycling, triathlons, water polo, speedskating, tennis and more would be incredible! Can you imagine families having their children involved in healthy lifestyle activities that are within walking distance of each other? How cool would that be? This complex would generate more than jobs; it could generate a lifestyle changing attitude for our youth and their parents.
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