GreenCity arena plans fall apart as developer misses payment deadline, Henrico leaders working to find new partner

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Another attempt to finally bring a large-scale arena to Central Virginia is in the gutter.

Henrico County announced it is taking back the land slated for the highly anticipated GreenCity arena project after developers failed to meet a payment deadline.

Central Virginia may feel like it has it all, but since the Richmond Coliseum closed in 2019, the region has been missing a large-scale arena. For years, looking up and down I-95 from Florida to Connecticut, major acts have been forced to skip over our community.

However, the announcement of Henrico County's GreenCity development project back in 2020 gave residents and leaders some hope.

"We don't have to say no anymore!" Henrico County Sports and Entertainment Authority's Executive Director Dennis Bickmeier exclaimed to our team years ago signifying the enthusiasm behind this project.

On Friday, March 14, Henrico County officials confirmed it's back to the drawing board. This comes ten days after the county issued a deadline for GreenCity Partners to make a $5.2 million payment, which would have, effectively, finalized the purchase.

Since the county did not receive the money, their existing agreements with GreenCity Partners are nixed. However, the need for this type of project has not changed.

8News previously reported on a study from 2019, which detailed how our community was losing $60 million in revenue by not having a large-scale venue.

The 200 plus acre GreenCity "eco-district" was touted as the perfect solution. It would have become home to "North America's greenest concert" -- something officials looked forward to on both the local and state levels.

"A win-win not just for Henrico County, but I think for the entire Commonwealth," Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears told our 8News team back in 2022.

This $2.3 billion dream has not vanished. Henrico leaders told 8News they still believe the "Best Products" property off of I-95 near East Parham Road is the perfect spot for a prominent arena.

Therefore, while the developers and nuts and bolts are bound to change, the vision remains clear and consistent with what leaders shared years ago.

"To think about a 17,000-seat building and then another building just a few miles up the road that can hold 3500 people… there's a lot of flexibility and a lot of variety we can bring to the region," Bickmeier said in 2022.

That second building Bickmeier mentioned is Henrico's "Sports and Events Center," which — as 8News has covered even this week — is up and running.

GreenCity project developers did not respond to 8News' requests for comment. It is worth noting, this recent failed project was not the first effort to bring an arena of this scope to the community since the Richmond Coliseum's closure.

Ironically, the failed Navy Hill project was also spearheaded by the same development team selected for GreenCity.

Henrico County officials told 8News they look forward to finding a new partner with "both the vision and capacity" to make the desired arena happen.