2014 Sports Tourism in Chesterfield County Virginia

Editor's Notes

1. Sports enthusiasts, spectators and athletes -- young and old -- are really falling in love with Chesterfield County. I want to thank you, Chairman Holland, and other members of the board of supervisors for the chance to speak before you today. I’m Jon Lugbill, Executive Director at Sports Backers, and I’m back once again to give you our annual update of sports tourism in Chesterfield.
2. Before we get to the new events, let’s talk a little about numbers.
3. Sports tourism continues to make a significant contribution to the economy of Chesterfield County. In the fiscal year that ended in June, the total economic impact was over $25.3 million. The total was up $3.5 million from $21.8 million in the previous year.
4. The events in Chesterfield continued to attract large numbers of attendees. More than 156,000 people showed up at events across the county. These numbers include both participants and spectators.
5. And a lot of the attendees are from out-of-town. In fact, more than 101,000 visitors came in from outside the area. These visitors bring new dollars into our economy as they spend money on food and lodging at our restaurants, hotels and other attractions.
6. All of this sports tourism activity turns into direct revenue to Chesterfield County. As you can see in this chart, over the past three years more than $2.43 million has been added to the revenue stream of the county.
7. From the numbers you just saw, it’s pretty obvious there’s been a lot of sports tourism activity in Chesterfield over the past year. So let’s take a quick look at a few new things.
8. Corrigan Sports Enterprises or CSE has been a great multi-year partner bringing events like the Capital Cup back to the facilitates here in Chesterfield each year since 2011. This year CSE will feature FOUR major lacrosse events at River City Sportsplex and the Clover Hill Athletic Complex. These events will brings thousands of players and spectators from across the country. The new events include the “Rumble in Richmond” and the NSCLA tournament. Lacrosse players really love to shoot and defend here.
9. The Collegiate School Aquatics Center also continues to add to the number of swim meets held at its fantastic facility in Chesterfield. Poseidon Swimming will host ten events including the USA Swimming Zones, the Virginia Short Course Age Group, and the IMBD Long Course Senior Champs. Swim Clubs from Williamsburg, Rappahannock and Orange are adding 6 additional meets over the next two years. And finally the CAA Conference Championships will be held at the center in February 2015 and 2016. With a world class facility like the CSAC, it’s no wonder so many love to swim here.
10. This past December we debuted an exciting, brand new event that generated a ton of excitement. The CarMax Tacky Light Run is a 6K course that shows off Midlothian’s best display of tacky lights.
11. The Tacky Light Run goes past dozens of homes with over-the-top tacky lights in the Walton Park neighborhood, including the famous Dawnridge Court. The course starts and finishes on Woolridge Road adjacent to Midlothian Mines Park. 3,000 runners took part in the race last year and we expect thousands will join us this December for the second running. Whether novice or elite, runners love this tacky course.
12. Another new event in Chesterfield this past year was the Bike Virginia Tour. The Bike Virginia Tour is a 6-day bicycling festival that draws an average of 1,600 cyclists from across the country and international locations.
13. This year the eastbound route started in Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County and ended in Williamsburg. Cyclists loved the 6 days of great riding in rural areas filled with farms, plantations, and unique sights.
14. This year we held the first annual Henricus Mudstock fun run which replaces the former Henricus Dauber Dash. This Woodstock-themed run blends mud, music and tie-dye to create a memorable 5k at Henricus Historical Park. An un-timed event, Henricus Mudstock is perfect for both families and groups. We have a short video that shows how much fun they had.
15. (Play Mudstock Video)
16. Tourism promotion, in general, and sports tourism promotion, in particular, is really a team effort. Organizers can take their events to many different places. But of course we want them to come here. To get them here initially and keep them coming back, we need to have all the pieces in place. It takes a public and private partnership linked to facilities, venues, hotels, restaurants, and retailers to produce tangible results. We are very fortunate to have a fantastic group of professionals supporting sports tourism in Chesterfield County and the rest of the Richmond Region. Those partners include the Sports Tourism Advisory Committee, Richmond Region Tourism, the Chesterfield Chamber, and the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Economic Development.
17. This year, sports tourism promotion activities included a variety of media events and sessions for area businesses. It also included event specific promotions like these displays at Richmond International Airport for lacrosse tournaments.
18. The mobile visitor center was out at events across the region, including the Jefferson Cup soccer tournament. The mobile center provides information about dining and lodging options as well as other attractions available to visitors at these events.
19. As we have said in the past, quality venues drive events. You must have high quality facilities to attract and retain premiere sport tourism events. Among the improvements are being made at River City Sportsplex are additional paving, filling curb areas and seeding along road areas, as well as smoothing walkways between fields. (Below is Info ONLY - not part of narrative) ------------------------------------------- #1 Stabilized rear field area with stone. Smoothed walkways between fields. Filled in along curb both sides of road and seeded. #2 Cleaned all basins on property. #3 Stabilized amphitheater area and in process of seeding #4 Paving main drive through to Oak Lake Court as well as drive lane in parking lot area. #5 Filled in curb areas and seeded along main drive and along Genito Road. #6 Plans to clean walking area along front fields and reworked some walkways between fields.
20. Over at Clover Hill Athletic Complex fields were reseeded over the winter and drainage has been improved. Does more need to be done? Of course... ...there is always more that can be done. But proper maintenance and improvements are keys to getting and keeping events coming to Chesterfield.
21. Now let’s move on to this upcoming year. New field hockey and lacrosse events will be coming to Chesterfield along with a world-class mountain biking ride center. We are also continuing to work on improving active community living.
22. In the normally low booking months of November and December, White Mountain Sports, a partner of USA Field Hockey, will be coming to River City Sportsplex. The all-weather turf-fields at River City were important to gaining the commitments for events during these months.
23. We’re also very excited to announce that a National Scholastic Club Lacrosse Association tournament will be held this year at River City Sportsplex and Clover Hill Athletic Complex. This NSCLA event, organized by Corrigan Sports Enterprises, represents a huge win for the region. We expect the same level of participation as we have seen the IWLCA tournament with teams coming from all across the country. In December, Hogan Lacrosse is bringing its premiere boys Pilgrimage Lacrosse Tournament to River City Sportsplex for a two day event.
24. As some of you, like Mr. Elswick, already know, the mountain biking trails in Pocahontas State Park here in Chesterfield and in James River Park System in the city, are officially becoming part of a brand new IMBA Richmond Region Ride Center. “Ride Center” is an official designation of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) for a large-scale collection of mountain bike trails that offer recreational opportunities for all skill levels, from families to expert. Currently, there are less than 17 locations worldwide which have received this prestigious designation. Specialists from Trail Solutions have been hard at work this winter planning and developing this project and have several miles of planned singletrack flagged in the field. The new trails at Pocahontas will complement Richmond’s James River Park System and provide a Mid-Atlantic urban mountain biking destination. Riders are going to love it.
25. In May, the Richmond Regional Ride Center became the East Coast Winner in the Bell Built Grant contest. Bell is manufacturer of helmets used in variety of sports including cycling. The $33,000 grant from Bell will go a long way to rehabilitating 15 miles of existing mountain bike trail, constructing an additional 20 miles of trail and developing a new gateway trail with two loops suitable for novices, children, handcycles, and bicycles pulling child-trailers. A combination of existing world-class trails in the James River Park System and the new trails at Pocahontas State Park will provide over 70 miles of mountain biking, making the Central Virginia area a destination-worthy resource. A new day-use trailhead area on Courthouse Road is proposed which will provide easier access to the trails from Route 288. Fundraising for the proposed improvements is underway, but as of now is still short of the total funds needed. The hope is to break ground in October. (Below is Info ONLY - not part of narrative) ------------------------------------------IMBA Ride Center: According to a study done by Mangum Economic Consulting, Inc. the ride center would annually increase economic activity in Chesterfield County by $2.7 million and by $4.5 million in Virginia. It would also generate 31 new jobs in Chesterfield and 51 in the state.
26. Sports Backers (is/will be/would like)? to work with Chesterfield County to develop a formal strategy focused on active living for the county. The result of the plan will be recommendations for ways to implement specific strategies leading to increased physical activity in the county. We see this a great opportunity to build on the great work already started in Chesterfield County Schools and C-FIt. Already, Sports Backers has helped fund some run clubs at Chesterfield elementary and middle schools. Bellwood elementary held a 5K event that drew enthusiastic runners from throughout the school. Sports Backers provided a grant which was used by the school run club to help kids train and participate in the event. Salem Church Middle School also received a grant used by its a run club that helped train kids for a 10k and some other local 5k runs. Other schools that received some funding included CC Wells, Crestwood, CE Curtis and Elizabeth Scott elementary schools.
27. So there you have it. We’ll end this update with a picture of an active parent and an active child having fun in the mud at a sports tourism event in a historical venue. Promoting sports tourism and promoting active lifestyles can have tremendous benefits to the well being of a community. We’re proud to be working with Chesterfield County as you pursue both. Thank you.