WILLIAMSBURG–The clock is ticking on the plan to build a sports complex
now that the Historic Triangle Recreational Facilities Authority(HTRFA) and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation have reached an agreement on a lease for 69 acres of the Visitor Center site.
A master plan for the property depicting the location of proposed buildings is due to Colonial Williamsburg within 60 days of the lease signing, which occurred on May 26.
The agreement sets a base rent of $220,000 per year with a scheduled 15 percent increase every five years. There may be additional rent for use of the parking lot, “equal to an agreed-upon percentage of the net parking fees,” which are not delineated in the lease agreement. (There is no determination yet if parking fees will be charged.) Colonial Williamsburg will also collect a ticket surcharge of “not less than $1.00 per ticket sold” on any tickets sold for public events at the complex, although events sponsored by and directly involving local schools will be excluded from the ticket surcharge.
In October, the HTRFA, a governing body made up of administrators from Williamsburg, York, and James City counties, awarded a contract to MEB of Chesapeake, to begin design work on a 160,000-square-foot indoor facility that would be big enough for 12 basketball courts. While no firm price tag has been assigned to the Williamsburg facility, a study three years ago estimated it could cost nearly $30 million. MEB built Virginia Beach’s new indoor sports complex that opened in October 2020 for $68 million.
A pot of construction money being collected from local tourism taxes had a fund balance of $8.5 million as of April 2023.
The HTRFA is charged with leasing the property, procuring financing for the project, building it, and managing the complex once it is built. Administrators and some local officials see it as a way of attracting more visitors and boosting revenue at hotels and attractions.
However, in 2021, two consultants hired by the HTRFA estimated that the complex could, at least initially, operate at a loss of as much as $400,000 to $500,000 a year.
Those losses might be offset, at least psychologically, by use of the center from Monday through Thursday by local school sports teams and parks and recreation department leagues.
Rent on the property will be due the day the authority is issued its first building permit for “vertical construction” of the facility, which the authority “shall promptly apply for and diligently pursue following agreement on the Approved Plans, or June 1, 2024, whichever shall occur first,” according to the lease agreement.
That gives the authority no more than one year to get a design approved, apply for permits, and get started on construction.
The land is being leased in “as-is” condition.
An advisory committee composed of two representatives from the HTRFA and two representatives from Colonial Williamsburg will be charged with approving the Master Site Plan as well as plans related to construction of the facility.
The HTRFA will be wholly responsible for demolishing structures on the site where the sports complex will be built. (See map) The parties, or their designees, will confirm the structures to be demolished in an on-site meeting prior to the start of demolition.
The lease agreement includes an option to lease additional land on the site at a future date. The entire document is 44 pages long.
“It only took two years,” to hammer out the lease, said Williamsburg City Manager Andrew Trivette.
In other action at its June 14 meeting, the HTRFA directed its consultant, Brian Connolly of Victus Advisors, to create a “request for information (RFI),” to be sent to companies that manage sports facilities. The authority is unsure yet whether to contract for management of the entire facility, or just to hire a firm that would handle the event scheduling and marketing of the complex to sports leagues and clubs.
“We’re open to creative responses,” said Connolly.
A key component of the decision will be selecting a model that can best balance local use with the needs of sports tourism. Shared-use is essential to ensure revenues are maximized while school and community groups have access, according to Connolly.
The decision is complicated by the uncertainty of what the complex will actually contain. The facility will be at least 160,000 square feet (and likely up to 200,000 square feet, according to Connolly) and will include 12 basketball courts that can be converted to 24 volleyball courts, 36 pickleball courts, or a full-sized artificial turf (via a roll-out turf system). But additional amenities are also expected to include other revenue-generating activities, such as food/beverage options, a clip n’ climb wall, ninja courses, and more.
“This is a gigantic decision and we have all these things going parallel,” said York County Administrator Neil Morgan. “Design, amenities, what we are going to do if one locality uses the facility more than another. Let’s get the (RFI) out there and find out what ideas they have.”
But Connolly said the RFI will need a firmer description of the complex – what it will contain, and what it might look like. The authority is hesitant to release sketches or site plans too early in the process.
“I think if we don’t build 12 courts the community won’t revolt,” said James City County Administrator Scott Stevens, “but I don’t want to put a picture out there of what it’s going to look like because if we don’t produce that, they may revolt.”
Until all the facts about construction are settled, it’s also hard to estimate what the operating subsidy might be. Connolly cautioned not to leave that piece of the management question open-ended.
“You don’t want to give them a blank check,” he said. “There are communities out there that give them a blank check.”