SportsQuest sued for breach of contract

SportsQuest quickly reacted to a recent suit for non-payment Ash Daniel/Chesterfield Observer A South Dakota-based electronic sign company filed suit against SportsQuest because it hasn’t paid $172,950 for a video display and scoreboard installed at playing fields last March, according to court documents and the firm’s lawyer.

Daktronics, Inc. filed suit in Chesterfield County Circuit Court on Sept. 29, claiming that SportsQuest has “failed and refused to pay” even though Daktronics “fully performed all of its obligations.” SportsQuest is “therefore liable for the $172,950 principle, as well as for “interest and attorney’s fees,” the suit says.

In a phone interview last Thursday, Daktronics’ attorney Neil Lowenstein acknowledged that SportsQuest responded quickly to the suit, making contact with the company only days after it was filed. Lowenstein said that SportsQuest CEO and Chairman Steve Burton appeared eager to resolve the dispute.

“I’m under the impression that [Burton] wants to do it sooner than later,” said Lowenstein, whose law firm, Vandeventer Black, maintains offices in both Norfolk and Richmond. Lowenstein added that regardless of how much future business SportsQuest might generate for Daktronics, “Our guys are expecting to be paid in full.”

In a Friday phone interview, Burton responded, “We’re not trying to finagle. I would not like to be characterized” as being set on creating some form of “deal-making structure.” Asked if other vendors or contractors have sued over non-payment, Burton would not comment beyond acknowledging that “we’ve had legal solutions.”

The Daktronics suit names 12 other defendants, including Chesterfield’s Appomattox Title Company, the county and its Economic Development Authority. But both Lowenstein and Burton – as well as representatives from the county and Appomattox Title – explained that the other defendants were named because of a Virginia legality requiring that anyone with an interest in the SportQuest complex be included in the suit.

A recent report by the online business publication

Richmond BizSense suggested that SportsQuest is plagued by financial problems and is frequently late in paying contractors and vendors. Last summer, RBS reported that SportsQuest had fallen behind in its plans to build a sprawling $250 million, 250-acre village with facilities for multiple sports and had halted construction after 12 of 17 fields had been finished.

Burton acknowledged that there have been “stops and starts” in the project because of delays in “closing financing.” He said that at the moment about one-third of the project is finished, and he expects to complete the rest of it by 2013.

The complex has already delivered on much of its promise to simulate the Chesterfield County economy, he said. “It’s generated over $10 million in economic stimulus,” he said. “It’s working. We’ve had tremendous growth in sports tourism. We’re becoming a destination for sports tourism.”

Burton has said that the complex at Powhite Parkway and Route 288 eventually will offer facilities for recreational, competitive youth and high-performance sports. It was expected to be developed in three phases, the first one including facilities for aquatic sports, ice skating, sports medicine and family entertainment. Subsequent phases were expected to include a hotel, a retail plaza, an arena for sports and special events, and indoor and outdoor tennis. Last year, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors reallocated $4.3 million in capital improvement funding to help build SportsQuest. The vote was 3-1, with Matoaca Supervisor Marleen Durfee abstaining. Supervisors Dan Gecker, Art Warren and Dorothy Jaeckle voted for the SportsQuest expenditure, and Dale Supervisor Jim Holland opposed it.

Opposition stemmed from concerns about using county funding for a private development and about the pace of the county’s response to SportsQuest’s request for help.

“We’re puzzled why the county is funding a private company,” said John Anderson with the nonprofit Midlothian Youth Soccer League at the time. “Why does a $250 million project need $4.3 million from Chesterfield County?”