Indoor Sports Dome to Open Near Diamond


Richmond athletes can play closer to home this winter, now that an indoor-sports center is expected to open near The Diamond by mid-November.

The Sports Center of Richmond (SCOR) will offer a new home mainly for soccer, lacrosse and dodge-ball leagues. The center also will have classes, tournaments and special events, such as birthday parties and lock-ins.

The 31,000-square-foot complex — covered by an inflatable dome — sits on an 8.1-acre property facing Interstate 95 on Overbrook Road. The property used to house Richmond school buses and the city’s Office of Pupil Transportation. Mark Grossman, owner of SCOR, bought the parcel from the city a couple of years ago.

Under the dome are two ball fields as well as a double-wide trailer, which holds administrative offices, sports merchandise, concessions and restrooms, says Eileen Grossman, who is married to the owner and is bookkeeper for the center.

She says her husband is a co-partner in the venture with former Richmond Kickers defender Chris Fox and Bruce Williams, who spearheaded the creation of the Bryan Park Soccer Complex in the mid-1990s.

Some may see SCOR as a closer-in alternative to the existing Richmond Indoor Sports Experience (RISE) in Midlothian. Mark Grossman and his partners had considered sites in the counties surrounding Richmond, including abandoned car dealerships and warehouses.

Ultimately, Eileen Grossman says, “We wanted to do something in the city.” S

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