VCU Athletics’ new hub near The Diamond took a step closer to becoming reality last week.
The university’s Board of Visitors voted Friday to formally approve plans for the first phase of its Athletic Village off Hermitage Road. The approval was a procedural step in VCU Athletics’ years-long effort to bring the majority of its facilities to the Diamond District area.
The first phase will take shape on the former Greyhound Lines bus maintenance facility property at 2701 Hermitage Road and include a new, 1,500-seat stadium and field to replace the neighboring Sports Backers Stadium, the 25-year-old facility at 2911 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. where the Rams currently host their soccer matches and track-and-field meets.
The Greyhound facility was razed earlier this year. The site will also house two new practice fields.
Construction on the fields and track on Hermitage are set to begin in January, with work on the stadium portion to begin a few months later in July. Barton Malow is the general contractor and HKS is the architect.
The first phase’s estimated $38 million cost will be financed primarily through the sale of Sports Backers Stadium. The university is set to sell the 6.6-acre parcel to the Richmond Economic Development Authority for $25 million, a VCU spokesperson confirmed, and the remaining $13 million will be covered by VCU Athletics funds and private fundraising.
A closing date for the sale of Sports Backers Stadium has not been set, but this week the City Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee is scheduled to consider an ordinance supporting the deal, which would allow the stadium site to become part of the broader Diamond District development. The Sports Backers Stadium site was most recently assessed by the city at $8.6 million.
Beginning in 2020, VCU gradually accumulated dozens of acres at 2601-2901 Hermitage Road for the Athletic Village, which is described as a third campus for the university. It spent a total of $39 million for the 42 acres it needs for the village.
At Friday’s Board of Visitors meeting, VCU President Michael Rao hailed the VCU athletics department, noting that athletics are “a window” through which many people look at the university.
The second phase of the Athletic Village would bring outdoor and indoor tennis courts on part of the land where the former ABC headquarters currently stands at 2901 Hermitage Road. Subsequent phases would include a new soccer stadium and futsal courts.
Earlier this fall VCU Health also bought some real estate in the area, spending $9.5 million on the former Pet Dairy facility to the east of the Athletic Village assemblage. The university also recently bought a small building near its Monroe Park campus.