Henrico officials weighing creation of sports authority
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Henrico County officials are proposing the creation of a sports authority that could oversee the operation, regulation and maintenance of some of the county’s sports and recreation venues.
During the first day of the Henrico Board of Supervisors’ two-day retreat Friday, Deputy County Attorney Andrew Newby presented the concept to supervisors, saying that it would provide the county with one oversight body for venues like Belmont Golf Course, the Frank J. Thornton YMCA Aquatic Center, the planned indoor arena at Virginia Center and future facilities.
Henrico already has 20-year partnerships in place with The First Tee of Greater Richmond (for Belmont) and the YMCA (for the aquatic center), but the authority would be be able to help oversee those arrangements and plan for the longer-term success of both entities once they end, he said. It also would position the county to manage potential future venues that could come as part of the GreenCity development or others.
Tuckahoe District Supervisor Pat O’Bannon expressed skepticism about the idea, saying that she wasn’t sure such a body was needed, given the existing management contracts already in place at Belmont and the aquatic center. She also suggested that an authority, with its board appointed by the board of supervisors, wouldn’t necessarily be accountable to citizens.
Instead, she said she’d favor simply adding more positions under the Recreation and Parks umbrella to help with any management issues that might require more employee time.
Three other supervisors – Brookland’s Dan Schmitt, Fairfield’s Frank Thornton and Varina’s Tyrone Nelson – expressed an interest in continuing to explore the creation of such an authority.
A tentative proposed timeline for it would involve funding dedicated staff members in the coming Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget, then evaluating through mid-2023 the facilities that could be included under the authority’s umbrella, and then formally creating the authority that fall, Newby said.
Sports tourism generated an economic impact of $66.2 million in the county in 2019 and $47.3 million last year, despite the pandemic, according to Recreation and Parks Director Neil Luther.
