Sina Sports Complex is planned to have at least six turf play fields, a hotel and restaurant on a 38-acre site. (BizSense file)
A proposed youth sports complex in Colonial Heights now has its leader in place, as it seeks zoning approval to carry the $180 million project forward.
Sina Sports Complex’s rezoning application was filed with the city last month, with a planning commission hearing expected in early December, according to Ravi Patel, the local hotelier and developer behind the project. City council would ultimately provide final zoning approval at a later date.
The project is proposed for a 38-acre site near Southpark Mall, and would feature hotels, restaurants and six synthetic turf fields.
As the rezoning process kicks off, the complex’s executive director has been revealed. Tina Robinson will oversee the facility, leading operations and developing relationships with tournament organizers. Her first official day as executive director was expected to be today (Monday).
Robinson aims to make the complex not only an economic engine as a venue for traveling youth sports tourism, but also a community resource for local residents’ use.
“I hope it’s a space that will allow the community to come together and enjoy sports that they’re already a part of, or maybe that they want to get into but don’t have the access to,” Robinson said. “I’ll also want to bring in interest and the tourism side of it. … So first and foremost, making sure it’s a community asset, but also an asset that we can bring in other people to see and utilize as well.”
Robinson has a professional background in sales and human resources. She most recently worked for Paylocity, an Illinois-based national human resources software company, and before that worked at local firm Dominion Payroll.
Tina Robinson
While she doesn’t have sports tourism experience, she said the people skills picked up in past roles would be a benefit. She also has a strong personal interest in playing various sports, which took root as a child and has continued into adulthood.
“I love working with people, and I think that’s what I bring into this role, the community aspect,” Robinson said. “I grew up riding horses and also had a real love for basketball and soccer. As I got into school age, I dabbled in other sports, I worked as a manager for some teams and got that side of it. And then when I went off to college, I continued to play intramural sports. I’ve never stopped playing, to my body’s dismay.”
Patel said he pitched Robinson, who has been a longtime friend, on the idea of leading the sports complex after an unsuccessful search in which he conferred with local government officials and considered people with backgrounds in the public sector.
“The more that we talked to folks, we just realized they were not really the right fit for the private sector necessarily,” Patel said. “You want somebody that thinks a little different, and that’s not a dig on government. … We’re looking at it from, yes, this is a facility that’s going to be used by the community but it’s also something that we need to make money in order to be successful.”
Sina Sports Complex would operate under the umbrella of the newly minted parent company Sina Experiences, which now also includes Patel’s Henrico-based hotel operator Sina Hospitality and Sina Sports Travel, a youth sports-focused travel agency. Patel is the CEO of Sina Experiences.
In August, Colonial Heights city council members approved the $1 sale of the project site at 301 Charles H Dimmock Parkway as part of a purchase and development agreement between Patel and Colonial Heights. The land transfer is subject to approval of the project’s zoning request.
The price was determined in part because Sina will be handling the environmental mitigation of the property that was formerly a landfill. Patel has previously said the mitigation could cost up to $7 million.
The agreement states the project would feature a minimum of six fields for soccer and other sports, as well as a 130-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott, a Mellow Mushroom restaurant, concessions and parking.
Patel ultimately plans a larger development for the site that would involve multiple hotels with a total of 390 rooms, 300 apartments and an additional restaurant. The project would be staffed by 380 to 590 permanent, seasonal and recurring employees who would work in operations, hospitality and retail positions.
Chesapeake-based Hemmis Construction is the project’s general contractor. A4B Architecture has been tapped to design the project. The Site Design Co. is the project’s civil engineer.
As part of the purchase agreement, Sina is putting up a $1.8 million performance bond against which the city could make a claim to secure compensation, and Colonial Heights could also buy back the land where the fields are planned for $1 if certain obligations aren’t met.
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