Copa Talento, a clinic and showcase event for youth soccer players, was held at River City Sportsplex in 2024. A project is underway to bring four more fields to the tournament complex. (Photos courtesy of Chesterfield County)
Chesterfield is building more fields at its main sports tourism venue just as its relatively new tourism department is getting warmed up.
The county expects to have four more athletic fields operational at River City Sportsplex this fall. The expansion will bring the 115-acre youth tournament complex to a total of 16 fields.
The $9.2 million project will not only allow Chesterfield to host more events at the Sportsplex, but also allow its existing clients to expand the scope of the events they hold at the venue near Brandermill, said J.C. Poma, director of Chesterfield’s sports, visitation and entertainment department.
The complex is a center of sports tourism activity in Chesterfield. Of the 160 sports tourism events held in the county in fiscal year 2024, 31 of them were at the Sportsplex. In fiscal year 2023, there were 83 sports events in Chesterfield, 26 of them held at the Sportsplex.
New York-based contractor Landtek Group Inc. was tapped earlier this year to handle the field expansion project, which also involves the conversion of an existing football field into a field that’s appropriate for other sports, as well as additional parking at the complex.
The fields project, which broke ground in the spring, got started on the tail end of a year-to-year increase in overall tourism-related revenue in Chesterfield.
In fiscal year 2024, Chesterfield had 1.5 million visitors (a year-over-year increase of 3.1%), visitor spending of $770 million (a year-over-year increase of 4%) and 4.1 million visitor room nights (a year-over-year increase of 3.8%), according to county statistics shared with BizSense. A visitor is defined as someone who travels to Chesterfield from more than 51 miles away.
Sports tourism brought $79.3 million in estimated visitor spending to Chesterfield, and $2.5 million in local tax revenue in FY24, which ended June 30. The previous fiscal year, sports tourism accounted for $48.2 million in visitor spending and $1.8 million in local tax revenue.
The fields project at River City isn’t the only near-term improvement slated for the Sportsplex. Next month, county officials expect to break ground on construction of a park and other recreational amenities, which are intended to serve county residents as well as the out-of-town families that come to the complex for tournaments.
Also on tap in Chesterfield is a plan to build four softball fields in a new complex that would rise at Horner Park. Those fields would join existing ballfields and other sports fields at the park.
Chesterfield recently renovated an existing softball complex at Harry G. Daniel Park and rebranded it The Diamonds at Iron Bridge.
That $10 million project would also include the creation of new recreational amenities at Horner. Construction is anticipated to start next spring, and follows a largely completed project to improve softball facilities at Harry G. Daniel Park, which were recently branded The Diamonds at Iron Bridge.
A construction contract for the Horner project is expected to be awarded later this year.
Those activities come amid the one-year anniversary of the county’s sports, visitation and entertainment department.
In its first year, the department held an inaugural restaurant week, unveiled a mascot for the county and launched online resources aimed at tourists and residents.
Nearly 40 restaurants participated in Chesterfield’s first restaurant week, a promotional event held in the spring and intended to raise the profile of the county’s dining scene.
Poma said the county considered the event a success, and that planning was underway for a subsequent restaurant week next April. He said that though Chesterfield lacks a specific restaurant-heavy neighborhood or area, it was deemed a priority to highlight and support locally based eateries.
“We have tremendous restaurants spread out across the county,” he said. “It was a storytelling machine and that is why we did it.”
J.C. Poma, executive director of the Chesterfield sports, visitation and entertainment department.
The restaurant week event is part of Experience Chesterfield, which Poma’s team developed to highlight eateries and recreational amenities in the county. The tourism department also established Play Chesterfield, which is focused on the county’s sports facilities. Poma said the push to develop brands is intended to make Chesterfield’s facilities and amenities stand out.
“Tourism is such an economic development driver that to compete with other localities we have to establish a brand, a customer service experience,” he said.
In a similar vein, Chesterfield this summer announced the creation of a county mascot: a raccoon named Cole, which is a nod to the county’s history as a coal-mining community and intended to promote Chesterfield and develop a sense of place, Poma said.
The tourism team has also introduced new online resources intended to help connect visitors and county residents with amenities throughout Chesterfield. The department also rolled out a converted ambulance called the Mobile Information Resource Vehicle, which makes appearances at events to promote attractions in the county.
Poma joined Chesterfield in his role as tourism director in May 2023. His department was also formally established at that time, and pulled in roles from other departments that had tourism-related responsibilities to create a dedicated team. Poma’s former job was a position in economic development, and three of his team were in parks and recreation while another came over from the county’s communications department.
“It was time we brought everything under one umbrella to build the brands,” Poma said. “You can’t do that with people spread out.”
The department is funded through lodging taxes. Its operating and personnel budget for the current fiscal year 2025 is $750,000. Last fiscal year, the department’s budget was $659,000.
Chesterfield’s tourism department rolled out a converted ambulance to spread awareness of recreational activities in the county.
Chesterfield’s tourism team works alongside the county’s parks and recreation department, which manages the recreational facilities that are used as sports tourism venues. Parks director Neil Luther said that Poma’s team is of a like mind that the facilities exist first and foremost for use by county residents. That stance helps keep the relationship warm between departments, he said.
“He’s sales and marketing and we’re product development. It’s a great relationship,” Luther said. “There’s two ways it can go: it can easily turn contentious when it comes to the issue of control. But (Poma’s) group has really bought into the idea that the main use is for the community,” Luther said.
Luther said park facilities like the Sportsplex and other sites are mostly booked by local users, such as high school sports teams. Sports tourism events occupy the facilities less often but their larger size generates the funds to maintain and expand the facilities.
Poma declined to comment on the tourism department’s near-term future plans, but said announcements were forthcoming. One goal is to encourage hotel operators to build more properties in Chesterfield by creating demand for rooms through increased tourism programming. He said that creating the space for tourists to stay in the county will help keep their dollars in Chesterfield.
“When heads are in beds in Chesterfield, they spend more money in Chesterfield,” he said. “When we provide parks, recreation, history and facilities like The Diamonds at Iron Bridge and expand River City, we’re doing our part to bring more people to the region.”
They need to install a traffic light at the entrance and/or off ramp from 288 or the Powhite
Or a roundabout?
Kudos for getting the kiddos into the outdoors and sports!