Will Dixon, representing Sports Backers, told the Central Virginia Transportation Authority that the Fall Line trail is designed as a regional spine that will connect neighborhoods, schools and businesses and help catalyze trail-oriented development.

Dixon outlined Sports Backers’ programs — Bike Walk RVA, Active RVA, the Bike Walk Academy, youth-run clubs and scholarship programs — and described how the organization supports active-living leadership and community engagement along the trail corridor. He said the trail has 95 schools within a two-mile radius and connects two historically Black colleges and universities (Virginia Union and Virginia State), offering both transportation and storytelling opportunities.

“We were very big supporters of sports tourism and everything that it means for our region,” Dixon said, noting the Richmond Marathon produced about $30,000,000 in economic impact last year. He emphasized that Sports Backers is not the funding agency for the trail’s construction: its role is convening, programming and stewardship.

Dixon and staff detailed placemaking elements — wayfinding, signage, public art and economic development near trail front doors — and said the organization has formed a Fall Line placemaking collaborative with roughly two dozen partners to address sustainability, housing, accessibility and public art. He said construction on one southern segment (DB2) is expected to be fully funded next year and that by 2027 the corridor will offer an estimated 13 contiguous miles from Bryant Park (Richmond) to Carter Park (Ashland).

Board members thanked Dixon and noted the trail’s connectivity to existing facilities such as the Virginia Capital Trail and Appomattox River Trail. Members also referenced local trail-led development in Henrico and praised Sports Backers’ community programs.

Dixon wrapped by urging stewardship and community engagement as the region moves from ribbon cuttings to longer-term trail operations and programming.