As Henrico Sports and Events Center nears its one-year anniversary, officials discuss future plans

For more than 30 years, Dennis Bickmeier has had a front-row seat to what he calls the “business of sports.”

From his 11-year tenure as president of Richmond Raceway to his current role as director of the Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority, which he’s held since its creation more than two years ago, Bickmeier not only has gotten to witness some monumental sports moments up close, but he has also had a hand in making sure those events are carried to fruition.

“What I feel about the Sports and Entertainment Authority position, it’s taken everything I’ve done over the course of 30 years and kind of plowed it into one job,” Bickmeier said. “I mean, we’re building something from the ground up that’s never been done before in the commonwealth of Virginia, an authority like this, specific to sports and entertainment, so that’s been fun.”

The SEA is charged with overseeing and managing the county’s public-private sports and entertainment facilities, including the Henrico Sports and Events Center in Glen Allen, which will celebrate its one-year anniversary next month.

During the past year, Bickmeier and his team have ushered a plethora of events through the facility. Whether it was the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball conference championship back in March, Rubik’s cube competitions, the American Cornhole League’s 150-board amateur cornhole tournament last December or Henrico County high school graduation ceremonies, the center has established itself as a premier destination for all types of events, sports-related or otherwise.

“I’m proud of the variety that we’ve had in [the center]” Bickmeier said.

One event that Bickmeier found especially impactful was the National Wheelchair Basketball Association games that were held at the center back in April. Some of the athletes who participated in this event went on to play in the Paralympic Games in Paris this summer, Bickmeier said.

“I look at the National Wheelchair Basketball Association event and I tell people all the time, ‘If you weren’t inspired by that event, I don’t know what would inspire you,’” Bickmeier said.

The center’s manager of business development and event operations, Megan Hazzard, said year one has been a mix between events the SEA has pursued and those that have pursued the center.

“The demand and interest in this building has been incredible,” Hazzard said. “We’re lucky with the location that we’ve had a lot of incoming interest.”

Every day, the facility is encountering new foot traffic, Hazzard said, helping in growing the space’s wide-ranging presence, which has been both regional and national in year one.

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One notable event the center hosted this year was the 2024 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony in April, becoming the first site outside of Hampton Roads ever to host the ceremony in its 51 years of existence.

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Will Driscoll said the change of venue was a great way for the organization to hold the event in a “non-traditional setting,” given that it’s typically held in a hotel ballroom.

“Being able to get on the same page as the Sports and Events Center, as the Sports and Entertainment Authority, and kind of all sharing a unique vision for the Hall of Fame and for that event, it was just such a fun process to be able to be a part of,” Driscoll said.

Leading up to the event, Driscoll said the Sports and Entertainment Authority, as well as sports stakeholders in the region like the Richmond Flying Squirrels, Richmond Raceway and the Richmond Kickers, assisted in expanding the Hall of Fame to Central Virginia.

The authority and these organizations helped the Hall of Fame in bridging the gap when making the move to Richmond and the Henrico County area, assisting in improving visibility and outreach along the way, Driscoll said.

“I’ve used the term a lot in the lead up to the event and even following the event now that we’re almost six months past it, but it was a calculated risk,” Driscoll said. “And anytime that you do something different from what you’ve done for 50 years, which is the position that we were in, there’s going to be risk involved. And you have to have a good team in place to kind of help you mitigate that risk.”

That initial risk, though, turned out to be a success for the Hall of Fame.

The organization’s board already is discussing a potential return to the sports and events center in years to come, Driscoll said, which is not out of the ordinary for organizations that book the sports and events center space. In fact, several groups that held events in the center in year one already have booked the space for year two.

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In looking back on the center’s first with its doors open, Bickmeier said it’s been more than just booking the space, but also executing on strong events that leave people with positive feelings about their time in the facility.

Even with minor hiccups – the concessions component of the space came together a little later than expected, and officials continue to work on parking accommodations – the vision that the Sports and Entertainment Authority had for making the space a landing spot for all types of events has come to fruition.

“There’s opportunities to expand our evening programming, and there’s definitely opportunity to expand our daytime programming in the center,” Bickmeier said, outlining one of his team’s primary focal points for the center’s second year.