The Richmond Strikers Partner with SportsQuest

SportsQuest, the Chesterfield County-based sports and entertainment enterprise, has partnered with the largest independent soccer group in the area — the Richmond Strikers.

The arrangement will allow the Strikers to use SportsQuest’s 17-field synthetic turf tournament complex, currently under construction, for its major annual events, including its crown jewel, the prestigious Jefferson Cup. That tournament draws about 750 teams and 30,000 people to the Richmond area each year, most of them from out of state.

The two-weekend event is held at 13 sites around the area, including the Strikers’ 11-field park in Henrico County, and generates about $9 million annually in tourism dollars, according to economic-impact studies conducted for the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The partnership with SportsQuest will allow the Strikers to accept more teams and potentially expand the tournament to a three-weekend event. The Strikers also might enlarge its other major tournament, the Capital Fall Classic, a one-weekend event in November that draws about 350 teams.

The Strikers will work with SportsQuest to host additional tournaments at the campus, with the goal being five a year over eight weekends, which could bring as many as 100,000 people to the area. The two groups will share the revenue from the events.

“This is a true partnership. We’re putting all the money in a bucket and sharing,” said Burton, who noted that the Strikers’ recreation and travel leagues will remain independent of SportsQuest.

Work is scheduled to begin this fall on the west campus, which will include a 5,000-seat arena, a 2,500-seat ice multisports center, a velodrome for track bicycling, an aquatics center, and a fitness center.

In total, SportsQuest’s campus is expected to cost about $100 million.