Cameron Run Regional Park could be reimagined as a sports and events complex under a new proposal presented to City Council tonight (Nov. 10).
The $117 million sports and events complex at Cameron Run (4001 Eisenhower Avenue) is proposed to replace NOVA Parks’ Great Waves Waterpark, mini golf site and batting cage facility. The 210,000-square-foot indoor facility would be intended for flexible court and turf sports, training, regional and national tournaments and larger events. In addition to the facility, the city could pursue 50,000 square feet of park uses, such as a tot lot, dog park, trails and amphitheater, pending community input.
In a briefing with reporters ahead of the City Council meeting, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership CEO Stephanie Landrum said the project responds to a “capacity problem” with demand for recreational facilities, fields and courts.
“It’s being designed to accommodate sports and tournaments, which we envision being a good number of the weekends throughout the year, but it also will be able to be used for larger scale events,” Landrum said. “Right now, this, as proposed, would be the largest event venue in the City of Alexandria, which is something that we’ve heard a lot about for needs like our high school graduation.”
The city is proposing to transfer the Cameron Run property to the state-enabled Industrial Development Authority, which financed the former Landmark Mall property and leased grounds to Inova Health System for its new hospital campus. After financing and constructing the facility, IDA would lease it to ALX Sports, a new multisports nonprofit, for a 30-year private operation. The Alexandria Soccer Association is part of the new ALX Sports organization.
“We know that the youth sports industry is booming and can be a significant economic engine for our economy and the economic health of our entire community for not just a few years, but for decades,” City Manager Jim Parajon said in the briefing. “Should this project move forward successfully, we’d be the first in the region to take advantage of this opportunity, primarily because we have a great partner in the Alexandria Soccer Association/ALX Sports.”
Tommy Park, executive director and CEO of the Alexandria Soccer Association, stressed the need for more indoor space for sports of all types. The proposed facility could accommodate volleyball, basketball, pickleball, futsal, soccer, baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, track and other sports and events.
“Families across many sports have had to travel outside of the city to find places to practice, compete, and participate,” Park said. “This proposed complex has the potential to change that. It would create new opportunities for local programs, welcome regional and national competitions, and bring families and visitors to Alexandria, and most importantly, it would give more children and families the opportunity to play right here at home.”
Under the proposed financial plan, the city would issue general obligation bonds to finance $107 million, and the operator has committed to a minimum $10 million. ALX Sports must provide $4 million before any city financing is issued, according to Landrum.
The city’s contribution would be repaid through ALX Sports’ rent paid to the IDA, an admissions tax, a “stay to play” hotel tax, and food and beverage taxes on and off site. The IDA and ALX Sports would also split a capital reserve in half to fund major repairs, replacements and capital needs over the 30-year term.
Landrum said the majority of similar facilities in the U.S. are publicly financed, developed and run.
“One of the things that is unique about the deal that we are proposing is that we’re using this nonprofit to take on the day-to-day responsibility,” Landrum said. “They are experts at doing tournaments and facilitating the types of events and training, et cetera. And so we’re sort of using the best of both worlds: the city’s ability to borrow capital at the cheapest and most efficient amount, and then using this nonprofit who is an expert in facilitating these sorts of events.”
Regional park system NOVA Parks has a lease for the city-owned Cameron Run Regional Park that expires in December 2028. The city had extended the lease by 10 years in 2018. The park system also runs a holiday lights experience seasonally at Cameron Run Regional Park.
In a statement, NOVA Parks said it would cease operations of the park in 2028.
“NOVA Parks has proudly operated Cameron Run for nearly half a century. We were hopeful to invest in the site and continue that partnership for decades to come,” said Justin Wilson, NOVA Parks’ executive director and the city’s former mayor. “While the City will be pursuing an alternate vision, we commit to working in collaboration as we conclude our stewardship of Cameron Run and look forward to maintaining our partnership in Alexandria at Carlyle House Historic Park and Winkler Botanical Preserve.”
To prepare for the lease end, NOVA Parks will not operate its outdoor ice rink in 2026, and its newly-renamed Bright Nights—The Winter Village will have its final season from Nov. 14 through Jan. 3, 2027.
The city’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities and the Park and Recreation Commission had conducted public outreach after NOVA Parks requested a 40-year lease extension. During the public feedback period, the majority of respondents supported a future use different from the current waterpark.
Landrum told ALXnow negotiations did not happen after the 10-year extension.
“After the 2017 public discussion, it was very clear to NOVA Parks that we wanted to move in a in a new direction, and so we have been consistently and constantly talking to them since 2017 about what that new direction looks like, and ultimately it was decided that that we wanted to do something that was beyond what their capacity is and what their charge is,” Landrum said. “So we did not negotiate with them to extend.”
There are no changes proposed to Lake Cook, the Ward’s Woods recreational area and the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter on the Cameron Run Regional Park property.
According to Landrum, the current waterpark use generates $10.9 million in revenue over 30 years, while the city estimated the proposed sports and event center would generate $160 million over the same term.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins said the proposal responds to the community vision through the 2017 Cameron Run planning process and City Council-adopted ALX Forward plan to generate additional revenue.
“It’s about a vision that is more than just a new sports facility, but really about an opportunity to create a vibrant, accessible year-round destination for indoor recreation and events, both for visitors and tourists, but more importantly for Alexandrians, creating a place for recreation, youth sports, and even community gathering,” Gaskins told reporters.
The proposed agreement specifies that ALX Sports must do a minimum number of regional and national events to drive hotel and food and beverage revenue. Under the deal, the city could use the facility for 10 signature events each year. Financial penalties would kick in if the operator does not meet the events quota.
“They’re going to be implementing something called a “stay to play” policy, which is relatively common in this industry, where third-party entities who do tournaments, in addition to leasing the facility, also require the people who are attending to stay in certain hotel blocks or use certain food and beverage services,” Landrum said.
With city approval, the targeted groundbreaking date would be in 2029, followed by a targeted opening in 2031.
The city will hold a number of upcoming meetings to discuss the sports and event center proposal. The first will be at 6 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 12).
“Should the community and council decide to move forward with it, there will be a very normal design and entitlement process that our community is very used to, where there will be lots of questions that end up coming when you talk about building something new in terms of access, building design, traffic, things like that would all be done during the normal entitlement process, which would be led by the IDA,” Landrum said.
