Va. Beach Sports Center is a “game-changer” for track
For several months now, Hampton Roads had been hearing about this new $68 million state-of-the-art indoor sports facility that was going to change the face of sports in our area.
The Lshaped building, called the Virginia Beach Sports Center, would feature 12 basketball courts that could convert to 24 volleyball courts.
But being a former Division I track athlete, the only thing I wanted to see was the track.
As we exited the gym on our way to the track, I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning. I was filled with excitement and hoped not to be disappointed.
Then, there it was. A bright beautiful blue 200-meter hydraulic track. The track could be raised or lowered for banked corners. In the middle were eight lanes for sprints and hurdles. There also were long- and triple-jump runways and not one but two runways for the pole vault. At one end also was the high-jump area.
I had died and gone to heaven. I touched the the track — with my hands, not my feet — and just envisioned what it would be like to step foot on the incredible track. I could only imagine what it would be like to run on it.
Best part about the facility: It can hold up to 5,000 spectators, without a bad seat in the house.
The responses from videos posted on Twitter and Facebook were overwhelmingly positive, with people commenting “Awesome” and “A dream come true.”
It’s going to definitely put Hampton Roads on the map.
The Virginia High School League has already booked the Class 5 and 6 indoor track meets there for March 1 and 2. And the VA Showcase, the nation’s largest indoor track meet, will be there Jan. 14-16.
That’s just the beginning. Hampton University track and field coach Maurice Pierce said the new facility is going take Virginia to the next level.
“I think the new Virginia Beach indoor track will raise the level of competition and exposure for the high schools and local colleges,” he said. “You will soon see teams from the Northeast coming to compete on this fast track surface.”
Pierce, who is the men’s track and field chair for Virginia, said he will try to get the U.S. Indoor Championships to come here and possibly bring an elite meet here that would attract many of the nation’s top track and field athletes, including locals Francena McCorory, Grant Holloway, Michael Cherry, LaShawn Merritt and others.
Also, the American Track League, which promotes track and field nationally, said it was working on bringing top professionals to the venue.
Holloway, who graduated from Grassfield High in Chesapeake, can’t wait to get on the track.
“It looks phenomenal,” said Holloway, who won gold in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. “I’m excited to go there and test it out.”
He thinks the facility will help Virginia and Hampton Roads be big players in track and field.
“We just need to capitalize to be able to hold good track meets there,” he said. “Hopefully in the next five years, we’ll be able to host NCAAs there and other track meets.”
Cherry, who graduated from Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake, said he’s glad South Hampton Roads finally has an indoor facility. For years, athletes had to travel to the Peninsula to Christopher Newport University and the Boo Williams Sportsplex to compete indoors.
“I’m glad that the kids in my area can finally have a track that’s closer to them,” he said. “With it being banked, we can start to produce times that other states put out more consistently.”
He added that it will help in recruiting.
“We are going to be able to host hopefully college meets and lot of high school competition that will bring more coaches to the area and boost recruiting for the kids that might not have seen that before,” said Cherry, who in 2019 won two gold medals at the
World Championships in the 4x400 relay and mixed 4x400 relay that set a world record.
Texas star sprinter and former Western Branch standout Micaiah Harris called the new facility “amazing.”
“I think it will bring more and better track meets to the area,” said Harris, an NCAA All-American in the men’s 200. “It will also benefit the schools in the area, too, to have a nice track to compete and train on.”
Bethel track coach Nanette Solomon-Gaines said, “It’s about time.
“Having a banked track in the 757 can help level the playing field,” she said, “especially in the area where we produce so many elite track athletes.”
I’m personally glad to see it and I can’t wait to see what the future holds..
As Holloway said, “It’s a gamechanger” for our local athletes.