Henrico’s $50 million sports activities and occasions house is anticipated to open this fall within the Fairfield District, close to Virginia Center Commons. The 185,000-square-foot Sports & Events Center has been underneath development since January 2020 and garnered giant quantities of curiosity from organizers since its conception.

In reality, Dennis Bickmeier, director of Henrico’s Sports and Entertainment Authority, has already secured at the very least 40 weekend occasions by means of 2024 — together with the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball tournament in 2024 and 2025.

“We’ve got a ton of basketball and volleyball booked,” Bickmeier stated. “We even got indoor soccer. Who knew indoor soccer played on hardwood? I thought that was pretty cool.”

Henrico Board of Supervisors formally established the SEA in September 2022 to spice up sports activities tourism and handle the county’s rising variety of leisure services. Dennis Bickmeier was quickly named the authority’s govt director.

With prior expertise as president of Richmond Raceway since 2011 and positions inside the Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Big West Conference and a number of other main league sports activities groups, Bickmeier says Henrico is slowly establishing itself as a profitable hall for sports activities programming and occasions.

“I think this sports center is really going to be a success story. We haven’t had a facility like this in the region ever,” Bickmeier stated. “It’s 115,000 square feet of playable hardwood space, 12 basketball courts that can convert to 24 volleyball courts and it’s revitalizing Virginia Center 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 practically $60 million in financial development, exceeding the county’s report excessive of $66.2 million in 2019.

Richmond Region Tourism Organization, a nonprofit that research the area’s hospitality trade, estimates that over 16.9 million guests spent $2.9 billion throughout that very same interval.

“That kind of economic impact helps keep the tax base low for our residents,” Bickmeier stated. “The region has done a great job when it comes to sports tourism. We’ve been blessed with some great outdoor facilities here in Henrico. And now we’re transitioning to a new indoor facility.”

Henrico’s outside fields are simply as necessary to its indoor occasions areas, stated Bickmeier. Over the final 5 years, the county has invested over $100 million in park enhancements.

In 2016, the Board of Supervisors allocated $87.1 million of bonds for park initiatives just like the now-completed highschool area turf installations and the Dorey Park baseball stadium. Another $37 million will go to a brand new park within the Three Chopt space, and enhancements to Deep Bottom 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 Recreation Department, stated a part of what makes Henrico a lovely vacation spot for sports activities is its various variety of fields and arenas.

“Our facilities are vital to Henrico’s ability to attract and maintain our portfolio of tournaments,” stated Zannino. “The relationship between Recreation and Parks and the SEA is our secret sauce and what makes Henrico so successful. We work hand and hand to support the tournaments and activities the SEA attracts.”

Alongside its parks, the county has also approved building a 17,000-seat arena development to draw extra mixed-use developments, resorts and leisure services.

In phrases of development, Bickmeier stated the county is rising as a pacesetter competitor within the area. As locations like Richmond look to spend money on its personal arena-anchored district, Bickmeier stated it’s necessary Henrico take a regional view on tips on how to maintain its development and prospects.

“I think that our biggest challenge right now is just competition,” Bickmeier stated. “Who knows how many of these indoor facilities are going to pop up? So we have to be smart about our growth.”