There is ample reason to believe that a state-of-the-art arena would be a tremendous asset to Hampton Roads, providing the region with the sort of high-capacity multipurpose venue that is a feature of many major American cities.
To build one, however, it’s essential that the cities here work constructively and cooperatively in order to share both the cost of construction and the resulting revenue. Anything less — or, heaven help us, any plan to more than one arena — diminishes its value.
Virginia Beach and Norfolk have for years sparred over how to fill the arena-sized hole in the region’s entertainment landscape.
The resort community’s pursuit of such a project dates to 2012, when Virginia Beach tried to lure the NBA’s Sacramento Kings across the country with plans to build a $350 million sports and entertainment complex.
The Kings chose to remain in California, but development companies subsequently kicked the tires on the project, meeting with city officials and trying to find a way forward. The most recent deal collapsed in 2017 when the private firm seeking to build an arena couldn’t secure a financing agreement. The state Supreme Court agreed in December to hear a lawsuit over the matter.
Former Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms had touted the deal in his March 2017 State of the City address only to see Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, a few weeks later, outline his city’s aspirations for renovating Scope Arena to serve the same purpose.
The downtown arena was built in 1971 and has a capacity of 13,600 for concerts. The mayor’s 2017 proposal would have added 5,000 seats to rival the 18,500-seat facility being pursued by Virginia Beach.
Last year, however, Alexander used his State of the City address to change gears, concluding that renovating Scope wasn’t a viable option. He announced plans to pursue construction of a new arena but was short on details as to how or where or when the city would proceed.
To most observers, both cities are being deliberately obtuse. A centrally located arena, with regional support and investment, appears the most promising way forward.
The recent State of the Region report, produced annually by researchers at Old Dominion University, makes the case succinctly in a section that examines the possibility of bringing professional soccer to the region:
“Over the past decade, city and regional leaders have bemoaned the lack of a major sporting arena in Hampton Roads and there have been unsuccessful attempts to fill this gap. … These proposals failed, in some part, due to the problem of concentrated costs.
“If Virginia Beach built an arena, the taxpayers of Virginia Beach would subsidize the entertainment of residents from Chesapeake, Norfolk and other cities. To solve this problem, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and other interested cities could establish a special district that would have the ability to levy taxes, collect revenues and administer a new stadium.”
In Richmond this year, such a proposal is now on the table.
Del. Jason Miyares, Republican from Virginia Beach, proposed the creation of a “Hampton Roads Regional Arena Authority,” granting it the power to issue bonds, paid for with state sales tax revenue designated for an area, in order to build a facility. His legislation directs the authority to “distribute any excess revenue to any Hampton Roads locality that elects to contribute to the financing of the construction of an arena and facility.”
Del. Joe Lindsey, Democrat from Norfolk, has introduced similar legislation that gives some of the same powers to Norfolk only. But the experience of recent years suggests that Norfolk cannot and should not go it alone, especially since the city has its hands full with the sprawling St. Paul’s redevelopment project.
Miyares’ bill may not be the best way to proceed, but as a way to forge cooperation on this massive undertaking it represents the most appealing initiative in recent years. Cooperation across Hampton Roads is the only way this works.