Mr Williamsburg, Revolutionary ideas on real estate!Hampton Roads Virginia

Williamsburg VA needs a visionary like Steve Burton.  There has been talk in the area of a long course swim complex being built for years and years. So far no action has been taken. The sticking point has been funding. James City County and William and Mary both seem willing to participate in the construction of a 50 meter long course Olympic caliber swim complex but an individual or corporation is needed to take the lead on funding.

Chesterfield County VA seems to have found their man.  Steve Burton, a local Richmond VA area physician who made a fortune selling $60 million worth of sleep disorder programs is breaking ground on a $175 million sports facility in Chesterfield County on  December 15th.

The sports complex will be located on a  250-acre site at the end of the Powhite Parkway at Charter Colony Parkway.

“The real meat and potatoes of SportsQuest is recreational sports — to get healthy,” Burton told members of the Chesterfield County Chamber of Commerce last week. Art Warren, Chairman of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors said, “This is great news for Chesterfield County as I have always wanted a project like this to locate in our community. This will further enhance the quality of life of Chesterfield citizens and will attract people to live, work and play in Chesterfield County, but on a much higher level than we ever anticipated.”

The proposed center will encompass facilities for 27 sports including 30 outdoor, lighted soccer fields, a swimming pool and ice rink, a velodrome for cycling, a 5,000-seat arena, 7,000-seat outdoor stadium and a 2,500-seat amphitheatre for concerts. It will also sport 20,000 square feet of retail, a hotel to be used by out-of-town athletes for extended stays, a family entertainment center (with bowling, arcades, laser tag and “cybersport courts”) and health-care facilities centered on sports.

The Sport and Family Entertainment Multiplex will allow high performance athletes as well as the public to participate in twenty-four Olympic sports, including: swimming, cycling, tennis, triathlon, speed skating, figure skating, hockey, volleyball, gymnastics, martial arts and others. The campus will house the largest group of high performance athletes in the country. Along with the elite athletes training there, programming for the general public in child and adult fitness and recreation will be offered at the site. SportsQuest has proven itself in high performance programming; its short track speed skating program located here includes: a 2006 Olympian and three 2008 US National Champions.

Stephen Burton, Ph.D., CEO and Chairman of SportsQuest, said, “The multiplex will provide a place that people can play sports for fun, fitness or to chase Olympic dreams.” “We will offer three tracks for all of our sports programming, including: recreational participation, competitive youth development, or high performance athletic pursuit,” Burton added.

The multiplex will be capable of hosting National Championships, World Championships, and Olympic Trials in most of the sports. The project will also include a cutting edge sports medicine and sports science facility to serve both the athletes at the training center and the local community. The project will be developed as three phases. Phase I will include: an Aquatics Center, Ice Skating Rink, Sports Medicine Clinic, Fitness Center, and Family Entertainment Center. Phase II is scheduled to include a hotel, a retail plaza, and a 6,000 seat arena for sports and special events. Phase III plans include an indoor/outdoor tennis club and a multi-sport field house.

“The family entertainment center is an important part of the campus program,” Dr. Burton said, “as a resident of the community it was important to me that we increase the opportunities for families in our community to spend time together.”

According to the website, SportsQuest opened its sales center yesterday in the Colony Crossing Center near the future complex. Membership opportunities include a swim team, water polo, speed skating, figure skating, hockey and an exercise facility.

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