Green means go

Henrico County unveiled its newest recreational gem, the long-anticipated Greenwood Park in Glen Allen, with a soft opening last weekend for the Ultimate Cup youth soccer tournament.

County officials are excited about the facility (for which planning began in 2015) because of the potential it holds to significantly increase Henrico's appeal as a sports tourism destination. Its first phase – an $11-million section that includes four lighted, synthetic turf fields for soccer, lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee and a variety of other sports – hosted a soccer tournament last month. The park also has eight sand volleyball courts, a restroom facility and a parking lot, all situated on 88 acres. A timeframe for additional phases has not yet been established.

"Last year we left $62 million on the table from requests for tournaments because we didn’t have enough facilities," said Henrico Tourism Supervisor Dawn Miller. Greenwood's opening will allow the county "to offer more to more tournament organizers," she said.

During the planning process for the park, longtime Brookland District Supervisor Dick Glover, a noted champion of youth sports in the region, was one of its strongest supporters. Glover died on Feb. 2 last year, before he could see the finished product.

“He was a champion to have this project funded and to have it master planned and it was one of his more important projects at the end,” said Henrico Capital Projects Manager Steve Hart. “He had a very active role.”

The Recreation and Parks Department has been getting calls from Henrico County residents who are excited that the new turf fields are close to them, Hart said.

The emotions from the county's side are similar.

“We’re just excited to partner with new organizations and have new opportunities through this new park,” Henrico Sports Tourism Coordinator Jason Schilling said.

Events booked
A number of events already are booked for the park.

In addition to the Ultimate Cup tournament, the Richmond Strikers will host four consecutive weekends of soccer as part of the Jefferson Cup, a national -caliber youth soccer tournament that draws dozens of teams to the region each year.

Two Atlantic Coast championship collegiate level ultimate Frisbee tournaments will be held at the park, as well as a U-23 men’s and women’s soccer championship during the summer. The US Lacrosse National Team Player Performance Camp will also be held at Greenwood.

The last event currently scheduled for the year is in December, Schilling said. That's a national youth football ‘Call to the Hall’ event, during which teams compete for the chance to go to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, to participate in a national event, he said.

“We’ve got some Henrico County high schools who are scheduled to have their soccer and lacrosse practices out there in March,” Hart said. Greenwood will serve as a temporary site for practices for several schools, including Freeman High School, while turf fields are installed at the schools.

“We’re just very thankful that we were given the opportunity to use those fields to practice on," said Suzanne Criswell, director of student activities at Freeman.

The synthetic turf at Greenwood Park is an organic infill material called Corkonut that is a blend of coconut fibers and cork. It's installed on top of a sand base.

“The turf is actually an organic turf that’s supposed to keep the temperature similar to grass," Schilling said. "We were able to use that to help bring in events and bring in people from all over not only the region, but also from the East Coast and nation[wide] as well.” Play best friv games web-site.

County officials spent about $750,000 on equipment to level the site initially during late 2016 and early 2017, according to Hart.

Brookland District Supervisor Courtney Lynch is excited about the project and the chance to solidify Glover's legacy.

“I want to find great ways to honor what he gave to the community. . . his leadership in youth sports,” Lynch said. “I’m excited to take the torch because literally, Greenwood Park. . . will provide millions of dollars of economic impact."

Schilling said the park would help bring in people to impact restaurants, hotels and the local economy alike.

Plans for the second phase
The second phase of the Greenwood Park project is currently undergoing review. Hart said the second phase will require a re-review of the master plan and work with a new board member to determine what will be built next.

“We don’t have any imminent plans to be on site doing constriction this year for the second phase at this time,” said Hart.

The additions could include more turf fields, stadium fields or a combination of the both, he said.

“The parks are beautiful," Criswell said. “It’s a great addition to Henrico County’s park system.”

Because of frequent rain storms and temperatures below 20 degrees in the region earlier this year, crews had been struggling to make final touches on the site, Hart said.

Now that it's open, Lynch is thrilled at the opportunities Greenwood will present for Henrico County.

“The team at Rec and Parks has done a wonderful job of getting us great value for the construction dollar and making sure it’s truly state of the art," she said. "[I]t’s amazing – from the position of the light poles to how they put space between the fields, every detail has been thought of and we’ve studied so many other fields and facilities to try to make this the best field it can be.”