Youth sports keeps generating big bucks

What's the number one driver of group bookings at Richmond-area hotels? It's not business conventions, weddings or vacationers. It's youth sports teams, and by a large margin – they accounted for more than 70% of group bookings last year locally.

New and upgraded facilities in Henrico and Chesterfield are drawing big regional events, and those players, and their parents and coaches, are pumping money into the economy in a major way.

The trend, marketed as "sports tourism," doesn't seem to be going anywhere, as kids begin playing on travel teams earlier and earlier, and major events provide an avenue to be seen by college coaches.

Progress of new baseball stadium

Drivers on Arthur Ashe Boulevard will get a prime vantage point as the new Flying Squirrels baseball stadium, CarMax Park, is constructed.

It's scheduled to be ready for the start of the 2026 season, and the subsequent demolition of The Diamond will kick off a building boom.

But a tight construction timetable means its progress, and plans for the neighboring development, will remain in the spotlight this year.

College sports upheaval isn't going anywhere

VCU made the men's basketball Final Four just 14 years ago. But large portions of the college sports landscape from that year would look unrecognizable now.

• The Rams played in the CAA conference, largely against local rivals like James Madison and Old Dominion. Now they're in the Atlantic 10 conference, and face far-flung teams like Saint Louis and Dayton.
• Players couldn't switch colleges without sitting out a year of competition. Now, the "transfer portal" facilitates regular movement, and the Rams have players who are on their third and fourth schools.
• Court rulings on Name, Image and Likeness rights mean players are getting paid, something VCU's Final Four players couldn't have dreamed of.

The NCAA is asking Congress to provide national legislation with guardrails, but that remains unlikely. In the meantime, a race to land the best athletes is producing "donor fatigue" as deep-pocketed supporters are being asked to support ballooning budgets.

Is there an end in sight? Don't count on it. It'll take a school willing to step away from the rat race, much as Washington & Lee's football team famously did in the 1950s, to bring about any serious discussion of change.

Richmond Ivy returns for Year 2

One of the biggest sports success stories in recent memory, the Richmond Ivy pre-professional women's soccer team drew big crowds in its inaugural season.

The team came along at a watershed moment for women's sports, headlined by basketball star Caitlin Clark. Will Year 2 be as successful? Given Richmond's increasing love of soccer, and the growing momentum behind women's sports, it seems likely the Ivy will become a local fixture.