Embracing 'sports-for-life' concept; Chesterfield complex seen as way to expand sports options in area

Can you imagine a place where you can get in a daily 45-minute workout with Olympic-caliber athletes, then go watch an Indoor Football League game or a minor league hockey game, all for the same price?

Steve Burton can. And that's why SportsQuest's CEO is confident that Richmond-area residents will embrace his 250-acre, $250 million campus in Chesterfield County.

"I am not the only one that thinks this will work," he said. "Our community has repeatedly taught me that our campus is what they have always dreamed about. I just want to help make our community dreams come true.

"I have learned that 'sports for life' is a concept that Richmond loves. We truly love to play our sports...We also love to watch the sports that we play.

"SportsQuest is simply going to offer a platform that will allow people a wide range of options for finding a sport that they can play for life, whether it be for recreation, for fitness or to chase Olympic dreams."

SportsQuest will offer youth development and club sports. It already is a training ground for Olympic athletes as speedskaters Kimberly Derrick and Jordan Malone have qualified for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Short Track team.

It has a professional sports arm with the Richmond Revolution, an Indoor Football League team, and Arena Racing USA (think NASCAR indoors with smaller cars). SportsQuest President Phil Evans is working on adding professional teams in lacrosse, hockey and basketball.

"We think we have the perfect location for an ECHL [East Coast Hockey League] team," Evans said. "Our complex will be like no other in terms of the breadth and variety of venues."

Burton says it's clear that amateur and youth programs could become the backbone of the campus.

He believes the youth-development programs and club sports will attract greater athletic participation among the 312,000 county residents, including about 60,000 students in Chesterfield County Public Schools.

"I would like to give more kids an opportunity to compete in scholastic sports," Burton said. "We want to provide a wider range of sports so we can develop a wider range of talents in alternative sports."

Burton's ambition is gaining support among two influential and potential partners: Sports Backers and Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation.

Officials for both organizations agree there's a need for additional athletic facilities in the county like Ukrop Park, the new home of the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club. It opened at Chippenham Parkway and state Route 10 in August. The $8.5 million, 34.5-acre sports complex features six lighted athletic fields and an aquatics center.

"I think its great to have both these projects," said Mike Golden, executive director of the county's parks and recreation department. "It's a difficult time for any major economic major project to go forward, but [Burton] has the experience of taking things to a higher level. He has a good chance of making it happen, and I hope he can pull it off."

The Chesterfield County Public School administrators and athletic and activity directors have begun to see the potential of SportsQuest.

"We have met with Dr. Burton on a couple of occasions," said Ted Salmon, activities director at CosbyHigh School in Chesterfield County. "We're interested in having a partnership [with SportsQuest]. How we will do that remains to be worked out over the next 18 months."

The financial impact on schools will be minimal according to Burton. He has offered to provide thefacilities without cost.

"I only offer them a chance to expand their programming, which doesn't cost the school anything," he said.

"Our goal is to expand events, not compete. If we were to offer, for example, basketball, we would only do it if they want to expand the numbers of kids to play. It's something we might do in the off-season, so it doesn't compete with their current basketball schedule."

It's a compromise that apparently has defused some concerns among school administrators.

"It looks like it would be just one of the premier athletic facilities on the East Coast, maybe even nationally when it's fully completed," Salmon said. "It's [Burton's] desire to explore every opportunity to benefit the young people in Chesterfield.

"To have this kind of facility in Chesterfield, which is accessible to us because of its location, we have to be open-minded in working with the SportsQuest facility."

Jon Lugbill, executive director of Sports Backers, expressed confidence that SportsQuest can succeed despite an uncertain economic climate unsuited for such an ambitious task.

"One of the things we look at is the quality of events, which determines the quality of the venue," Lugbill said. "If a lot of Steve's plans come true, we're going to have an opportunity to expand what we do, and that would be great for the region."

Burton envisions a wealth of partnerships. He's hoping for residual benefits with parks and recreation, which draws more than 4 million visitors annually.

He thinks SportsQuest could conceivably attract about 25 percent of the county's parks and recreation visitors.

Golden said there could be a financial upside for the county, which spends $4-$6 million annually on maintenance and renovations.

The SportsQuest complex, which is expected to have several artificial fields available throughout the year, will lessen the wear and tear of county fields that typically are available only 32 weeks each year.

"This could relieve the county's financial burden of caring for facilities," Golden said. "They're looking to host tournaments on weekends and are willing to have the community use their facilities during the week. It's a huge benefit for us. It's an economic development project for the county, too."

According to Golden, this is the most expansive project ever planned for Chesterfield County. Harry G. Daniel Park, completed in the mid-1980s, consists of 20 athletic fields and the Chesterfield First Tee.

"You've got to bring a lot of parties together to make this happen," Golden said, "and that's going to take a lot of conversation, lot of capital and resources. The question is, can he develop a business plan that brings all these resources to the table?"

Olympic and professional sports also are important to SportsQuest. Burton has been working to bring governing bodies for U.S. Olympic sports to the area while Evans has focused on developing professional sports.

SportsQuest will provide training, living and dining facilities for elite-level athletes. What Burton wants in return for the office space and housing and training sites is content.

"Every year, we would be in the rotation for their Olympic trials, in rotation for national championships," Burton said. "We'd be given an annual competition that is of prominence and will be held on our campus. If we can get that in 20 sports, there's always going to be something happening at a really high level that people could enjoy being part of."

Burton wouldn't mind if USA sports governing bodies, mostly located in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Indianapolis, picked up and moved to Richmond, but he knows that's unlikely to happen.

"What we want to have is representation by someone at the governing body," Burton said. "They could move their corporate headquarters to us. They could move their mid-Atlantic regional rep for a sport to us.

"We'll provide executive suites, so you might move just one or two people here."

He thinks that if area athletes see the top fencers, cyclists, badminton players and team handball players perform, local interest in those sports will increase.

"If you can grow more people doing it, you'll grow more people who want to watch it at the highest level," Burton said.

Steve Pastorino, general manager of USA Team Handball, said his organization would consider opening a regional office or a high performance center when the SportsQuest project "comes to fruition."

Dan Cloppas, CEO/Secretary General of USA Badminton, had not heard of SportsQuest until a reporter called.

Cloppas found the idea of trading competitions for office space or a training center workable.

"We'd certainly be interested in having something on the East Coast," Cloppas said.

Most of the country's elite badminton players live in Southern California.

Cloppas said his organization would like to have an elite training center in five regions of the country.

"Our idea is that we can provide a consistent landing site for these sports that they can use year-in and year-out," Burton said. "These governing bodies can do not only the high performance piece, but also innovate and offer youth development and recreational programming.