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Officials Say More Needed For Growth
The Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization is thriving. Around 1,700 children in Rockbridge County, Buena Vista and Lexington are participating in RARO youth sports. In recent years, adults have joined in on the fun, with 300 or so taking part in RARO offerings such as pickleball or softball.
The only problem is that the available local sports facilities are maxed out. If RARO is to continue to grow, it needs more facilities. The biggest gap is indoor gymnasium space on weekdays, when schools are in session. At such times, Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., there is no indoor gym space available to RARO.
RARO’s leaders – Executive Director Chad Coffey and Joey Jones, chair of RARO’s board of directors – made a presentation this past Thursday to the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, Lexington City Council and Buena Vista City Council – that offered details about this dilemma.
“We borrow our property,” said Jones, noting that all of the facilities RARO uses are actually owned by other entities, mostly the local schools. RARO enjoys wonderful relationships with the schools and the other local organizations that own the facilities, he emphasized, but RARO depends on the good will of such entities in order to provide the use of these facilities.
Because of the paucity of available space at certain times, particularly in indoor gyms on weekdays, said Coffey, “It makes it difficult for us to meet our mission statement.” RARO’s simple mission statement is as follows: “To provide and encourage a broad range of leisure and recreational opportunities to Rockbridge area residents of all ages by instilling ideals of citizenship, sportsmanship, good will and good fun.” Now in its 36th year, RARO has done a pretty good job, most would agree, of providing youth sports throughout its years of existence. RARO was created in 1988 by Rockbridge County and Lexington as a public recreational facilities authority. Buena Vista came on board as a full partner in 2016.
In recent years, RARO, under Coffey’s guidance, has made a concerted effort to serve adults in its programming. Pickleball has really taken off. Adult softball, once an extremely popular sport in the Rockbridge area, is being revived after being dormant for many years.
Coffey said RARO wants to take advantage of the plentiful natural resources in the area by offering outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, canoeing, biking, fishing and hunting.
Not only would expanding RARO’s offerings enhance the quality of life in the Rockbridge area, Jones pointed out, it would also greatly benefit economic development. Sports tourism is big business, he noted. Sports tournaments draw teams from outside the area, and that in turn leads to visitors staying in local lodging establishments and patronizing area restaurants and other businesses.
“Sports tourism is growing exponentially,” said Coffey, citing a study that showed $2.7 billion in direct spending in Virginia in a recent year. Also, thriving sports and recreational activities draw residents. “It’s a driver in helping determine where people want to live,” he said.
“We want to grow our youth programs,” he remarked. As for adults, “Our goal is to serve as many adults as children within three years.”
To accomplish this ambitious vision, RARO needs access to more facilities, especially during the school year on weekdays.
Coffey and Jones didn’t specify exactly what they wanted from the local government officials, such as whether they’d like to see the localities finance the construction of a new centrally located recreation center or add individual facilities at different sites throughout the area.
“We want to hear from the localities – what you’d like to see from us. [Let us know] if you would you like to see us grow,” said Coffey.
