NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – During a Norfolk City Council Works Season, members heard from consultants who are planning to transform the former Military Circle Mall.

A top option for the 90-acre site is an indoor sports complex.

“These type of facilities can be used every single day, year-round, said Brian Connolly, Managing Principal at Victus Advisors. “During the week they tend to be used for local use. So your local teams, athletes can participate in leagues and camps and clinics like that during the week. But during the weekends they focus on sports tourism which means club teams, travel tournaments bringing hundreds of teams in that can participate for multiple days.”

He said Victus Advisors has worked in over 40 states doing financial and economic studies for sports, recreation and event developments. Some studies were in Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.

“We’re very data-driven. Doing community engagement locally regionally and even nationally,” Connolly said. “We’re coming into this project with a very strong base of understanding the sports and event facility market regionally.”

The sports complex is considered the “anchor” for the project. However, the site could also include:

• Transportation
• Open Space
• Residential
• Hospitality
• Retail

“We think, wellness, health, sports, a place to live, is walkable, green, is really where we want to go with this,” said Mark Erdly, Project Director at Gensler, an architect and design firm.

In 2023, Several proposals to redevelop Military Circle Mall in 2021 and 2022 were “shelved.”

Jeffrey Brooke, the chairman of Norfolk’s Economic Development Authority, (EDA) said the EDA has been the titled owner of Military Circle Mall since 2020. According to Brooke, the mall is the number one thing the authority has been dealing with.

“We obviously made the decision to close the mall. Demolition is ongoing,” Brooke said.

He said the costs of operating the site are running out.

“It’s costing us more money than we have,” Brooke said. “We had a settlement with the movie theaters that were a tenant. That put some money in our pockets, but that money is being depleted very rapidly.”

He said the EDA will be out of money in about a year and a half to run the site.

“We’ll be in a real pickle with how the mall gets run,” Brooke said.

He said the EDA has participated in the last round of studies for the project.

“Speaking for some of the members, we do not feel entirely included that process,” Brooke said. “We simply ask for two things, one let’s keep our eye on the ball in terms of budgeting and the year, and a half number that we’re counting down to. And number two this transparency, and inclusion of the EDA.”

He suggested a liaison be appointed.

Brooke said the EDA’s first September meeting will exclusively be devoted to the mall.

Consultants said the community will be able to provide input on the project.

So far, consultants have talked to or will be talking to a variety of community stakeholders, like Seven Venues, Visit Norfolk, FestEvents, Sentara Health, Hampton Roads Youth Hockey Association, Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University and Tidewater Community College.