Supervisors authorize sale of bonds for arena construction
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Plans for a new indoor arena and convocation center at the current site of Virginia Center Commons advanced last night when the Henrico Board of Supervisors authorized the county’s Economic Development Authority to sell up to $50 million in bonds to finance the facility’s construction.
Construction on the facility is expected to take about two years and could begin this summer, with a targeted completion date of May 2022.
Henrico is working on the project with local developer The Rebkee Company, which last month purchased most of the Virginia Center Commons site for about $12.8 million and then sold the 25-acre portion where the arena will sit – on the site’s northeast corner – to Henrico for $8.3 million.
Once the arena is built, Henrico will turn its operations over to Rebkee, who is expected to contract with a management company that will handle day-to-day operations. Those two companies will be responsible for all annual operations costs and will be able to set rental fees and otherwise market and operate the arena as if it were their own.
In exchange for fronting the construction costs, Henrico will receive guaranteed use of the arena at specific times (for example, for high school graduations and use by community members and local sports organizations).
The arena will include a convocation center section, with seating for a minimum of 4,500 spectators to allow for graduations and other activities to take place there. That area will be able to transform into four basketball courts or eight volleyball courts when it’s not being used as a convocation center. The other portion of the arena would include eight basketball courts, convertible to 16 volleyball courts, as well as team and meeting rooms.
Supervisors are weighing the idea of building a second phase that would include an indoor track complex. Should those plans develop, the arena would become the only one in the nation to include 12 basketball courts, a convocation center and a track complex, according to Henrico officials.
A study conducted by Richmond Region Tourism for Henrico County recently concluded that the county is missing out on at least $33 million in economic impact annually from indoor sports tournaments it could attract if it had sufficient space. Henrico Recreation and Parks Director Neil Luther told the Board of Supervisors Nov. 26 that Henrico could book basketball tournaments for 30 weekends a year immediately if it had the space.
