County officials recommend developer for indoor arena

Plans for an indoor sports arena and convocation center in Henrico could advance Tuesday when the Henrico Board of Supervisors considers a resolution to authorize negotiations with a developer.

The resolution would direct county officials to begin negotiating with The Rebkee Company for the design, construction and operation of such a facility, according to board papers. Rebkee, based in Richmond, was one of three groups that submitted arena proposals by the county's Oct. 7 deadline as part of a rebooted effort by the county to find a developer – and a site – for an arena.

A committee of county officials led by Recreation and Parks Director Neil Luther recommended Rebkee's proposal over those of Eastern Sports Management, LLC and MEB General Contractors, according to the board papers. No details about any of the proposals have been made public.

This is the second time in 13 months that county officials have narrowed their search for a developer for the 4,500-seat arena they want to locate in the county. Last October, it was Eastern Sports Management and MEB General Contractors who made the initial cut, advancing from a group of six original bidders.

But after county officials decided they wanted to build the arena at the Richmond Raceway Complex, they were unable to reach an agreement with RR officials, and the process fizzled.

So in August, they invited each of the original six bidders to submit new proposals according to more specific guidelines. Chief among them: the prerequisite that each proposal must be made with a specific site in mind – one that the bidders had authority to convey to the county as part of the process. The proposal could not be made for land owned by the county or the Henrico school system, according to the request for proposal.

County officials don't want to locate the arena on land they already own, and they don't want to have to lease a site, either, Luther told the Citizen.

"The county[-owned] land, we've looked at that – everything that's available has other intended uses," he said. "We felt like the private market could find a piece of real estate that's a better fit."

Supervisors will be briefed about the latest round of proposals Tuesday during a work session that starts at 5 p.m.

Last year, Rebkee made its first proposal jointly with Hourigan Development, proposing to build the arena together and then turn its operations over to Spectra, a national venue management company. Details of that initial proposal were redacated by the company at the time of the bid and still are unknown publicly.

Rebkee has been completing a $50-millon redevelopment project at Regency Square mall in Henrico since 2015 and has been involved with a number of other local projects. It's unknown whether Rebkee's most recent proposal involves Hourigan, which has developed a number of local projects, including the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center, Robins Stadium at the University of Richmond and the Stone Brewing Distribution Center in Richmond.

Last year's Rebkee proposal named Dallas-based HKS as its proposed architect and Richmond-based Timmons Group at its proposed engineer. HKS has designed dozens of sports facilities nationwide, including the stadiums of the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.

Luther and his committee last year rated the proposals of Eastern Sports Management and MEB as demonstrating a "clear and superior understanding of the youth sports industry and the opportunities and challenges faced by localities like Henrico seeking to optimize their market position both locally and nationally,” according to a letter Luther wrote to the Board of Supervisors at the time.

The committee last year weighed the proposals according to a number of factors, including their strengths, financing plans and community benefits; compatibility with Henrico’s long-term development goals; and the experience of each group with similar projects, Luther wrote. Those same factors were expected to be considered this time around too, but introduction of a proposed site requirement was a new and critical addition for bidders that may have turned the tables in Rebkee's favor.

Northern Henrico site preferred
Since the arena would serve the entire county, Henrico officials have concluded that it must be built somewhere in the county's northern corridor – equidistant to the West End and East End. One seemingly obvious fit for such a facility – Glover Park in Glen Allen – is not an option, because a significant portion of the land on which it sits was donated to Henrico with a deed that limits the type of development that can occur there.

“We can’t build a large building on a significant portion of that property,” Luther told the Citizen last year.

Luther's committee last year favored the raceway site because of its proximity to interstates, its central location in the county and the fact that the site already contained the necessary infrastructure for an arena. It's likely that other potential sites will be evaluated according to similar criteria.

The raceway site didn't materialize for a variety of reasons, Luther said.

"NASCAR is going through corporate restructure – it wasn't the right time to get into a land transaction," he said. "It was amicable, it just wasn't the right time for that particular property."

Privately-owned undeveloped land in the desired region is scarce, so it would seem likely that the arena would take shape as part of a redevelopment project, the scope of which is unknown. In their request for proposal, county officials intentionally included only minimum requirements for the arena rather than detailed ones, hoping that developers would be creative with their bids.

Those requirements included 26 bullet-point items, including:

• space for 12 basketball courts that meet Virginia High School League standards, convertible to six NCAA-standard courts or 24 volleyball courts;

• seating for at least 4,500 people;

• remotely operated floor-to-ceiling dividers;

• a lobby/entrance area "designed for high-visibility;"

• adequate family and spectator congregating space spread throughout the facility.

Arena could increase tourist spending
As they did last year, Henrico officials this year issued their request for proposal through the state’s Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Act of 2002, which allows private entities to enter agreements with localities to build a wide range of facilities. The PPEA is designed to foster faster completion of such projects by allowing private groups to fund them in whole or part initially and recoup their money through agreements with the localities.

Localities view such agreements favorably because they provide for the construction of new facilities faster than they likely would have been completed otherwise, payable over time, with a reduced financial risk. Private companies absorb short-term expenses but benefit financially long-term.

Henrico officials believe the time is right for an indoor arena that could amplify the county’s commitment to sports tourism and allow it to host a variety of local, state, regional and national games and tournaments, as well as its high school graduations.

Henrico realized more than $54 million in economic impact from 170 amateur sports tournaments and related spending on hotel rooms, retail outings and dining last year alone, according to county officials – a $7 million jump from the previous year. But officials believe they're leaving millions more on the table because they lack indoor venues that could host basketball, volleyball and other tournaments.

As part of the ongoing process, the Board of Supervisors will be required to hold a public hearing about all three recent proposals.