Byline: RICHARD QUINN
VIRGINIA BEACH -- BY RICHARD QUINN
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
VIRGINIA BEACH - The latest proposal to turn the outdoors around the Virginia Beach Sportsplex into an athletic village is an indoor sports venue complete with a six-court gymnasium, therapy pool and jogging track.
The grand vision also comes with an estimated price tag of $32 million, leading City Council members to balk at the plan before it's even presented to them. A report on the concept is scheduled for Tuesday's council meeting.
Council members interviewed Wednesday said budget season - rife with citizen complaints about city spending - is no time to consider major projects. Plus, the city is already debating whether to help fund a hotel to support the Convention Center.
'Here we are trying to make more efficient use of our assets and we're proposing to build a brand new sports center?' Councilman Ron Villanueva said. 'It should not be a high priority.'
The proposed complex is in Princess Anne Commons, a 1,500-acre swath near the municipal complex that includes the Sportsplex, the USA Field Hockey National Training Center and the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater.
City Manager Jim Spore said the plan for that corridor envisions it as an amateur athletic destination that can partner with the nearby campuses of Old Dominion University, Tidewater Community College and Norfolk State University.
Cindy Curtis, the city's parks and recreation director, said the city does not intend to build the facility on its own. The city would prefer to partner with a developer, possibly by contributing land.
The report by Brailsford & Dunlavey, a Washington firm, suggests South Hampton Roads can support a 100,000-square-foot center that melds recreation center activities with scholastic sports. The report 'clearly identified a need to develop an indoor venue.'
Curtis said it's up to council members to decide that. If they're interested, the city could next solicit ideas from private investors willing to pay for construction.
'There's obviously interest,' Curtis said. 'The question is will this work.'
The query is framed by recent struggles at the Sports plex, where the main tenant moved out last month. The city is struggling to fill the stadium with events and has no long-term plan for it.
Spore said if the city moves toward an indoor facility, he's not worried it may struggle like the Sportsplex has.
'The hope would be it would generate some activity,' Spore said.
Curtis said several developers and nonprofit groups have expressed interest in an indoor center in recent years. One investor said Wednesday that he's in talks to build a three-rink ice skating facility near the Commons. Patrick Cavanagh hasn't submitted any plans, but he said he would talk to the city about building a larger venue.
'That corridor has a lot of potential,' said Cavanagh, who owns Chilled Ponds Ice Sports Complex in Chesapeake.
* Reach Richard Quinn at (757) 222-5119 or richard.quinn@pilot online.com.
