As of June 7, 2024, construction had commenced in May 2024, on the 42 acres that will eventually house the school’s “Athletic Village” at 2601-2901 Hermitage Road. A design team and construction manager have been identified. An off-campus VCU Athletic Village will offer new sports fields and facilities, including a tennis center, practice fields, a baseball stadium and field house. This plan returns on-campus real estate to serve academic and student needs, reduces travel and increases practice times for teams, and offers new opportunities for community impact through youth programming. The University intends to demolish five structures along Hermitage Road in order to build Phase 1 of its sprawling, 40-acre athletics village. The university will use athletic department funds to pay for the demolition. Eventually, VCU plans to knock down two other adjacent buildings to make way for the rest of the athletics village. The phased project is expected to be built generally starting from the south end of the assemblage moving north.
The southernmost parcels, including the Greyhound facility and a former Salvation Army center, are planned to be developed first. A pair of fields and a track and field center are planned to rise on that 15-acre plot. Following that phase, the vacant, 365,000-square-foot former ABC (Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority) headquarters would be demolished to make way for a dozen outdoor and six indoor tennis courts and a soccer stadium. The fourth and final phase would be a multi-use building with an indoor track and eight futsal courts on a 6-acre property at 1609 Sherwood Ave. 2024-2026 Biennium is in planning for Athletic Village - Outdoor Track Facilities and Practice Fields (replaces Sports Backers Stadium) and the Athletic Village - Tennis Center as potential university funded projects.
2028-2030 Biennium Athletic Village Indoor Field House.
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