Tuckahoe Little League complex project moving forward despite setbacks

Despite numerous setbacks, Henrico’s Tuckahoe Little League complex renovation project is still in the works.

After a bond referendum including $16 million for the project was approved by voters in 2016, the county created a plan to improve numerous aspects of the complex, such as revamping fields, creating a new main entrance, building new restrooms and batting cages, and more. The project initially was set to be completed sometime this summer.

But eight years later, construction has yet to begin.

The main setback to the project was deciding how to fund it. When Henrico County purchased the 65-acre complex from Tuckahoe Sports, Inc. in 2007 for $6.5 million, the agreement included a clause guaranteeing exclusive use of the fields to the Tuckahoe Little League and Tuckahoe Sports, Inc. during the Little League season, Henrico County Division of Recreation & Parks director John Zannino said. (TSI continues to own just more than 2 acres within the complex, on which its indoor training center sits.)

The money that originally had been allocated for the renovation project was from a general obligation bond, which requires that funding be used for public amenities. Since Tuckahoe Sports, Inc. and the Tuckahoe Little League still have exclusive rights to the fields from during the Little League season, the project does not fall under that category – meaning that the bond referendum funding could not be used to complete it.

“There was concern that we could jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the bonds if it was used for what could be described as private activity at the park,” Henrico County Attorney Andrew Newby said. “It’s good policy, in my opinion, not to use tax-exempt bonds if there’s private activity associated with it.”

With this in mind, Newby said he advised county officials to find a different source of funding for the project.

The money that was originally allocated to the Tuckahoe Little League project is being redirected toward other public amenity projects, such as improvements to Glover Park and others throughout the county, according to Zannino.

The financial responsibility for the project – estimated to cost about $7 million, according to Zannino – now falls to the county, and officials are planning to pull from a number of its financial reserves.

The Henrico Board of Supervisors allocated $1 million for the project as part of a June budget amendment. Once county officials award contracts for the project, they will allocate the remainder of the money.

Since the project’s budget is less than half what was originally planned eight years ago, some aspects of the original plans will be abandoned, Zannino said.

“There are certain things that we were originally planning on doing that we’re no longer able to afford to do,” Zannino said. “We’re no longer planning on doing [a new entrance to the complex from John Rolfe Parkway]. The entrance will remain off of Copperas [Lane], the way it currently is.”

That is not the only thing stalling plans, though.

Another reason for the delay, according to Tuckahoe District Supervisor Jody Rogish, is a desire not to interfere with field availability for Tuckahoe Little League teams.

“Instead of doing a big bang project that would have maybe started a couple years ago, I think that we also have to consider the impact on the kids that are out there playing now,” Rogish said. “We’re trying to be as little of a disruption to the organization as we can.”

As a result, construction is planned to be completed during the course of the next few years, and particularly during the offseasons when the complex is not in use by the Little League.

“The expectation was that work would begin in earnest this summer, and probably phased in over two or three summers,” Tuckahoe Little League President Scott Gaskill said.

Despite these setbacks, many of the original plans are still in place.

Some of the main improvements include fixing drainage of the fields, building new dugouts, press boxes and seating areas, Gaskill said. The Little League plans to meet with representatives from Henrico County to decide on more specifics about renovations on a field-by-field basis. Depending upon what they deem necessary to improve, they will allocate appropriate funds.

Though dates are not set in stone, the project is expected to be completed sometime in the next few years, with smaller improvements that would not impact play being completed during the Little League season and larger improvements happening during upcoming offseasons.