Liberty Park Breaks Ground After 14 Years and Three Mayors
JUNE 14, 2021 | After attempts across 14 years and three mayoral administrations, city leaders broke ground Monday, June 14, on the first part of a plan to overhaul and redefine the Fairgrounds.
Mayor Jim Strickland recalled his first meeting as a city council member-elect in 2007 was a meeting at the Children’s Museum of Memphis on developing plans by the Herenton administration for the acreage.
Officials Break Ground for Multi-Million Dollar Liberty Park Project
JUNE 14, 2021 | On Monday, Memphis leaders broke ground on a multi-million dollar facelift of the historic Mid-South Fairgrounds Monday, making way for the Memphis Sports & Events Center at Liberty Park.
“My first meeting as a city councilman in 2007 was talking about a youth sports complex here on the Libertyland site,” said Mayor Jim Strickland. “It died, basically, but the people I work with have picked it up.”
$200M Liberty Park Development Breaks Ground Around Liberty Bowl, Coliseum
JUNE 14, 2021 | Ground has officially been broken on a massive Memphis development project that is expected to bring thousands of visitors, and their wallets.
Work started Monday morning on Liberty Park at the old Fairgrounds, a 227,000-square-foot center for athletics like no other in the region.
Williamsport Sports Complex Takes Another Step Forward
JUNE 8, 2021 | A seven-field sports complex land development plan for a facility holding baseball and softball games and tournaments received a positive recommendation Monday from the city planning commission.
The plan, submitted by Williamsport Baseball Inc., a land-holding entity created by the Williamsport/Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce, is a step closer to developing the 28-acre site for the sports complex, with City Council expected to take a vote on the matter.
Tourism Development Zone Bond Approved for Liberty Park development at Former Memphis Fairgrounds
MAY 24, 2021 | A Tourism Development Zone Bond has been approved by the Tennessee State Funding Board for the development of Liberty Park at the former Memphis Fairgrounds in Memphis.
The mixed-use, public-private development, and sports and events center is set to begin phased openings in 2022.
Pro Basketball Player, Virginia Beach Native Devon Hall Pledges $30,000 for Youth Basketball
JANUARY 13, 2021 | Virginia Beach native and professional basketball player Devon Hall wants to make sure all local kids can afford to play organized basketball and realize their dreams.
Hall, a former UVA standout who now plays professionally in Europe, said he will donate $30,000 over the next three years to support economically disadvantaged players at the new Wave Basketball Club at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
Entertainment Company Plans a New Complex for the Former Mid-South Fairgrounds Area
DECEMBER 1, 2020 | The city of Memphis has signed a letter of intent with an entertainment company to join the Liberty Park campus.
Austin-based High Five Entertainment is planning a 65,000 square foot facility in the heart of Liberty Park, which used to be known as the Mid-South Fairgrounds.
The new plans include a bowling alley, laser tag, a ropes course, virtual reality simulations, and an arcade.
Virginia Beach Sports Center selected as Host Site for NCAA Track & Field Championships
OCTOBER 14, 2020 | The NCAA announced Wednesday that Hampton Roads' newest sports venue has been selected to host four NCAA Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championship meets between 2023 and 2026.
According to the NCAA, the Virginia Beach Sports Center will host the 2023 and 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, the 2024 Division III Indoor Championships, and the 2025 Division I Indoor Championships.
He wanted to work for ESPN, but this Cape Henry Grad Ended up in China Before Returning to Virginia Beach
OCTOBER 6, 2020 | Terrell Allen had dreams of working at ESPN.
That’s one of the main reasons why the former Cape Henry Collegiate basketball star chose to attend Central Connecticut State University.
Virginia Beach’s New $68 Million State-of-the-Art Sports Center Opens
OCTOBER 2, 2020 | Vying to be one of the nation’s top sports tourism destinations, Virginia Beach opened its new $68 million state-of-the-art indoor sports facility Thursday, a month earlier than expected.
The Virginia Beach Sports Center, on 19th Street at the Oceanfront, became a reality in less than two years.
City Rebrands Fairgrounds Redevelopment, Signs LOI with Hotel Developer
AUGUST 13, 2020 | The City of Memphis wants its citizens to know that COVID-19 has not stopped its work on the Mid-South Fairgrounds redevelopment.
The $40 million youth sports complex should be finished in November 2022; Mayor Jim Strickland recently inked a letter of intent for a 120-room hotel; and the project has a new name: Liberty Park.
Centerplate Selected as Exclusive Foodservice Partner for Virginia Beach Sports Center
JUNE 30, 2020 | Centerplate, the leading hospitality partner to North America's premier sports entertainment venues, today announced the signing of a new multi-year agreement with the new Virginia Beach Sports Center. This state-of-the-art facility, owned by The City of Virginia Beach and managed by Eastern Sports Management, will host a diverse roster of sporting events and tournaments when it opens in November 2020.
PLAY OFF: Area Sports Facilities Stuck in Holding Pattern as State Slowly Reopens from Shutdown
MAY 7, 2020 | While health clubs and gyms can operate in that fashion, it’s difficult for sports facilities like Legacy Park Sports and the Fredericksburg Field House in Spotsylvania County which make revenue from competitive sports.
Stafford Parks and Rec Won’t Teach Swimming Classes, Gives Duties to Rouse Center Operator
MARCH 25, 2019 | Stafford County will pass responsibilities for aquatics classes onto a Fredericksburg-based sports management group.
Eastern Sports Management will take over teaching aquatics classes at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sport Center in Embrey Mill starting this summer. It’s the same firm that has overseen day-to-day operations for the Rouse Center since 2014.
Virginia Beach Selects Firms to Build and Operate a New Field House at the Oceanfront
JANUARY 13, 2018 | The demand for venues that can handle indoor sporting events is growing nationally, and Virginia Beach wants a piece of the action.
So the city is moving forward with a plan to build an Oceanfront sports center and has selected a team of companies to make it happen.
Virginia Beach Wants to Woo NCAA Track Championships with New Sports Center
MARCH 27, 2018 | Thousands of high school wrestlers descended on the Convention Center last weekend for a national championship and the chance to introduce themselves to college recruiters.
The parking lots were jam-packed. The first level of the long building was filled with wrestling mats. About 4,200 wrestlers, 1,200 high school coaches, and 200 college coaches, as well as fans, families, and friends, attended.
Stafford’s Rouse Center Becoming a Community Favorite
DECEMBER 25, 2016 | Eight months after opening its doors for the first time, Stafford’s Jeff Rouse Swim and Sports Center is proving to be an asset for the county.
The 76,000 square-foot indoor recreational facility is owned by the county and operated by a private company, Eastern Sports Management. It features three pools in addition to workout areas, a gymnasium, and a cafe.
Rouse Center Gets a Ribbon Cutting
JUNE 10, 2016 | As kids and adults were splashing in the pool at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sport Center, the Olympian was making a few remarks before the ribbon cutting to officially open the sportsplex named for him.
Rouse recalled that in the 1980s he and classmates would travel past the location of the current center on their way to practice at a pool aboard Quantico Marine Corps base. Conditions for swimming were not the best, Rouse pointed out because the Marines used the pool with their fatigues on.
Stafford's Rouse Center Open for Business
JUNE 6, 2016 | Krista Millegan made sure her three little Millegans — ages 6, 4, and 2 — wore life jackets as an added safety measure for their visit to the grand opening of the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sports Center in Stafford on Sunday.
The oldest, Elijah, splashed by, speaking so excitedly only his mother could understand.
Williamsport Sports Complex Takes Another Step Forward
JUNE 8, 2020 | A seven-field sports complex land development plan for a facility holding baseball and softball games and tournaments received a positive recommendation Monday from the city planning commission.
The plan, submitted by Williamsport Baseball Inc., a land-holding entity created by the Williamsport/Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce, is a step closer to developing the 28-acre site for the sports complex, with City Council expected to take a vote on the matter.
PRESS CONTACT:
Kristina Finigan • kfinigan@easternsportsmanagement.com
