Hanover’s Perspective
New Sports Complex Ups the Game for Athletes
A new sports training facility in Hanover County, off Highway 301, is in the business of taking athletes to the next level. Sports Reality trains athletes and teams to improve strength, speed, agility, position skills and discipline.
“From football to golf, we offer programs for all athletes from middle-school ages to professionals,” explained Casey Cooley, general manager of Sports Reality.
The 50,000-square-foot building houses a 50-yard regulation indoor football field with Shaw Legion turf. The field is flanked on one side by a 70-yard Olympic sprint track. A second-floor mezzanine at one end of the field serves as a viewing and video-recording deck for coaches and trainers.
The facility also features a professional-grade Hammer Strength Platinum weight room, a media room with a kitchen, administrative offices, locker rooms and a training room with laundry service.
“Mike Fraizer was chairman of the steering committee that brought the Washington Redskins training camp to Richmond,” said Cooley. “While he was involved in that effort, he saw a need in this area for a specialized training facility.”
Mike and Elizabeth Fraizer, owners of the Richmond Raiders arena football team, own the Sports Reality complex. In addition to the specialized training programs offered, the Raiders practice at the facility. The former practice spot for the Raiders was at the old National Guard Armory on Dove Street in Richmond.
The Fraziers considered around six possible locations in Richmond and the surrounding counties. They chose the site in Hanover because it was affordable and easily accessible.
“What impressed me the most about all of this is how Hanover worked through the typical red tape to get this project launched,” explained Fraizer in Hanover Lifestyle magazine (March/April 2014). “Every department showed up to the table and got involved in the discussion. We knew exactly what we needed to get this facility built right from the beginning and by the second meeting, everything was done. Hats off to the county of Hanover for their business-friendly mindset.”
Sports Reality’s location off Route 301 provides easy access to I-95 and I-64 making it convenient to athletes from surrounding areas. There are few facilities like it in the mid-Atlantic region, and it is the only of its kind within a three-hour drive.
“We’re fortunate to have a sports training facility in Hanover that is unlike any in the area,” said Wayne Hazzard, chairman of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. “It not only provides a wonderful opportunity for our local athletes, but it also allows us to showcase our active community to athletes visiting and training at the Sports Reality complex.”
Sports Reality held their soft opening a few months ago, and has already hosted high school football skill clinics and combines with college recruits at the facility. The center is open to the public on May 16 from noon until 3 p.m. to celebrate their grand opening. The event includes tours of their state-of-the-art facility; strength, speed and agility demonstrations; injury prevention and self-massage tips, testing shoes by Fleet Feet Sports Richmond and lunch by Chick fil A.