A rendering of the proposed 89,000-square-foot, two-rink ice hockey facility that would be built in Chesterfield. (County documents)
Several years after opening a smaller facility in Powhatan, local ice hockey booster Fred Festa is eyeing a two-rink venue in Chesterfield.
Chesterfield Sports Enterprises, an entity tied to Festa, is planning to build an 89,000-square-foot facility that would have two NHL-sized ice hockey rinks at full build-out.
The facility would rise at 2300 Genito Place, southwest of the Route 288 and Powhite Parkway interchange in the western part of the county.
Ryan Winfree, who would be the venue’s general manager, said the ice rink facility is envisioned as a venue for youth and adult hockey programs and clinics, as well as for figure skating and as a destination for youth hockey tournaments. It’s expected to have 800 spectator seats and 10 locker rooms.
Ryan Winfree
“We’re confident we can fill this facility and profitably run a high-level, state-of-the-art facility,” Winfree said.
The facility is expected to be built in two phases. Phase one is anticipated to be completed in May 2026 and would involve construction of a 46,000-square-foot structure with the first ice sheet, 400 spectator seats and some of the planned locker rooms. The rest of the facility’s features, including its second ice rink and remaining planned square footage, would follow in phase two.
Winfree declined to comment on the facility’s overall cost estimate other than to say it’s anticipated to be a “multimillion”-dollar investment.
Minneapolis-based JLG Architects has been tapped to handle the design of the facility. The project’s general contractor is EDC and the engineer is Balzer and Associates.
Festa’s group is under contract to purchase the project site. The currently wooded parcel is nearly 9 acres and owned by Waterford Knox LLC. It was most recently assessed at about $578,000, according to online county records.
Winfree said the plan is to start clearing the property and begin site work later this year.
The venue doesn’t have an official name yet. Winfree said the plan is to sell naming rights for the facility.
A floor plan of the first phase of construction, which would include the first ice rink and spectator seating. (Courtesy Ryan Winfree)
The Chesterfield project is intended to build on activity at Powhatan Ice Den, a 14,000-square-foot facility owned by Festa in Powhatan County. Festa’s group also considers the Chesterfield project as a step toward an ultimate goal of attracting a professional hockey team to the region.
“We’d love to have a professional team here, that’s Fred’s main goal with this,” said Winfree, who is the general manager of the Powhatan facility and Festa’s son-in-law. “We’ve learned a lot and grown a lot, so we thought we’d go bigger and keep growing.”
Festa, a retired chemicals industry executive, owned the AA East Coast Hockey League team the Greenville Swamp Rabbits from 2012 to 2018. He floated the idea of bringing a new minor league hockey team to Richmond as part of the arena-anchored Navy Hill project that failed to move forward in Richmond in 2020.
Winfree said the Chesterfield facility wouldn’t be suitable for professional hockey games because it isn’t planned to have enough seating. But it could be a practice facility for a professional team that played games in a future, larger arena in the region.
Powhatan Ice Den opened in the fall of 2021 in the Oakbridge Business Park. The Richmond Generals, a youth hockey organization, leases the rink for practices and games. The Powhatan rink also runs a women’s hockey club in addition to clinics for children and adults.
Winfree said the upcoming Chesterfield facility intends to build on the group’s existing relationship with SkateNation Plus and Richmond Ice Zone owner Brad Robinson, who is the president of the Generals. The fine details of programming at the Chesterfield rink are still being worked out.
“We would continue that partnership to continue to grow youth hockey,” Winfree said.
The Chesterfield ice hockey venue would rise on land adjacent to The Lake, a large mixed-use development planned to include a surf pool that’s under construction. Also nearby is the River City Sportsplex, a youth sports tournament venue owned by the county.
Festa’s project would be similar in size to a two-rink sports and entertainment venue planned as a feature of the ongoing county-led Springline at District 60 project in Midlothian.
A Chesterfield spokesman didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment on the current status of that plan. In late 2023, Chesterfield was reconsidering whether ice hockey rinks would be part of the project.
Springline on Midlothian at the Chippenham was planning two ice rinks large enough to accommodate a minor league pro team. Has that plan evaporated? If not, what is the market for all these ice rinks? The obvious choice for a minor league team would be the proposed (now virtually silent) tenant-less arena at Green City in Henrico. What’s become of that plan?
I thought that one was supposed to be a County sponsored facility. Did Chesterfield decide not to pursue?
Fairly certain that plan is dead as a doornail.
Fairly certain this one is too; a entity with the backing of the County (and its funding support) could not get it off the ground but a private group is going to get funding based on the hope and prayer that a professional hockey team MIGHT return to RVA and use this as its training center IF the GreenCity arena is EVER built. Speaking of GreenCIty they still tout that “in the second phase, GreenCity Partners LLC will build the 17,000-seat arena and most of the retail and hotel space, which they hope to start in 2023 and complete in… Read more »
I heard that the private investors were wildly off on their construction estimates, so they backed out.
Won’t hold my breath, but with more ice rinks to choose from, will this make our pick-up hockey leagues more affordable than the ridiculous $975 that they’re currently charging?
Probably not, since the same folks will be running it. The figure skaters here in town are right there with you – Richmond has the second most expensive per hour freestyle session charges on the east coast. This is why you don’t see nearly as many little kids skating now. No parent in their right mind is going to put a kid in a sport that costs $20 an hour just to practice. Even lower level competitive kid skaters need 6-12 hours of practice a week – that’s $120-$240 per week, just to practice! Now lets talk lessons and equipment…*sigh*
NHL?! LOL, that’s poutine in the sky dreaming, eh?
Never
Gonna
Happen
How many ice rinks does this area even need?
Remember the Robins had the rink out West Broad St.Is that building still there?The floor was full of plumbing pipe to make ice.
no…long gone