County staff review recreational facilities authority as tool to support sports, tourism and events

Fairfax County staff on March 25 presented options for using the Public Recreational Facilities Authority Act to support sports, arts and entertainment tourism, telling supervisors the tool can help attract multi-year events and long-term facility partnerships but requires a dedicated funding source and careful coordination with existing county assets.

Scott Sizer, representing the Department of Economic Initiatives, framed the discussion as an assessment of how three Virginia jurisdictions used either an authority or a county department to develop large, tourism-oriented recreational facilities. Sizer said the county’s tourism and leisure economy had an estimated $3.3 billion economic impact in 2023 and supported about 25,000 jobs, and that officials had been directed to review the enabling legislation to determine whether a local authority would be an appropriate tool.

Why it matters: Supervisors and staff said sports and entertainment tourism can generate hotel stays, restaurant sales and other visitor spending, but any new governance vehicle needs a clear mission, a durable funding mechanism tied to tourism revenues and agreements allowing long-term operations and revenue-sharing with partners.

What staff reviewed and recommended Sizer briefed supervisors on three Virginia cases: Henrico County’s Sports and Entertainment Authority (which delivered a 185,000-square-foot indoor center funded in part by hotel occupancy taxes and a tourism improvement district); the Historic Triangle Recreation Facilities Authority (a regional entity serving York County, James City County and Williamsburg to develop a 200,000-square-foot facility); and Chesterfield County’s alternative approach of creating a county Department of Sports, Visitation and Entertainment and acquiring the River City Sportsplex.

Staff highlighted four consistent findings across the examples: a focused tourism mission; a dedicated funding source (commonly lodging or sales taxes); the entities’ roles in entering long-term agreements for operations, land use and revenue-sharing; and an origin in a specific capital investment or public–private partnership.

Supervisor concerns and local context Chairman Stork and other supervisors pressed staff on how an authority would interact with existing private facilities, the county’s Park Authority and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). Sizer said jurisdictions studied often used the authority to integrate private and public operators into a tourism-focused network and to manage scheduling and marketing; Henrico, for example, books high-school graduations and coordinates with local partners.

Supervisor comments focused on three priorities: ensuring any new approach does not displace local recreational needs, creating partnerships that include private-sector facilities rather than competing with them, and securing a funding mechanism tied to tourism-related revenues (hotel occupancy and meals taxes were cited during the discussion). Sizer and colleagues recommended that, if the Board pursues an authority or similar vehicle, the scope be limited to tourism-related investments, governance should engage current stakeholders, and investments should be funded from tourism-aligned revenues.

Relevant numbers and local examples - Fairfax County’s tourism economic impact (2023): about $3.3 billion; employment in tourism and leisure: about 25,000 jobs (staff estimate). - River City Sportsplex (Chesterfield example): staff cited roughly 225,000 visits and more than 500,000 hotel stays attributable in part to that site in the cited reporting period. - Typical facilities studied: indoor event centers ~185,000–200,000 square feet or multi-field outdoor sports complexes.

Quotations from the meeting - Scott Sizer, Department of Economic Initiatives staff: “We would like to review a potential tool to assist in a specific sector of the county's economy. … This tool is related specifically to the tourism and entertainment sector.” - Chairman Stork: “I just don't want us to lose sight of meeting the needs of the people who are already here as priority 1.”

Next steps and constraints Staff said any move toward an authority should begin with a clearly articulated project or partner and a dedicated revenue source (lodging or meals taxes, a tourism improvement district or similar), and that governance must be designed to work with the county’s complex existing institutions (Park Authority, Visit Fairfax, FCPS and private facilities). Several supervisors suggested the county keep the option on the table as a tool for specific future projects — for example, a potential partnership with a university or a major private facility — rather than creating a new authority immediately.

Ending note Supervisors asked staff to continue research and report back when a specific project, partner or funding mechanism is identified; staff said they would share case-study materials and the completed research with supervisors.