May 6, 2009

The scope of SportsQuest, a sports and entertainment complex in Chesterfield County, is expanding with the addition of 200 acres for sports tournaments.

Dr. Steve Burton, chief executive officer and chairman of SportsQuest LLC, said the park "will serve as the platform for invitational tournaments that will be supported by a number of Olympic and amateur sports, including lacrosse, rugby, volleyball, soccer, field hockey and football."

The new tournament complex is to include 30 outdoor fields and two indoor fields to be integrated into the campus.

Burton said that would allow for national tournaments drawing as many as 300 of the best teams in the country at the same time.

The expansion brings the project cost to $175 million and the size to 250 acres at Powhite Parkway and state Route 288.

Burton said his company will fund the $100 million and that development partners will cover the balance. Now in the design phase, the project is to be completed in phases over 12 to 24 months.

Burton says the project should attract more than 130,000 out-of-town visitors annually and bring in $1 million worth of car rentals, hotel rooms, meals and entertainment spending. About 100 local jobs will also be created, he said.

"We're excited about the project," said E. Wilson Davis Jr., the county's economic development director. "This ties in nicely with our interest in increasing the sports tourism draw to Chesterfield and the benefits that everyone would enjoy."

The 24-sport campus will be developed in phases beginning in coming months, with the first slated to open within a year. The first phase will include an ice rink, aquatics center, cycling center, sports medicine clinic, fitness center and family entertainment center. A 6,000-seat arena would be added later with a hotel, retail plaza, tennis facilities and a field house.

The campus will also offer an open-water swimming pond to be used for triathlons and other swimming events.

Burton hopes to use the facility to host Olympic trials and national and international championships. Olympic contenders in multiple sports would train on the campus and live there.