Virginia Beach Sportsplex is
a sports complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia
. The name is most commonly attached to the
main
stadium within the complex, which is
primarily used for
soccer. The
main stadium opened in
1999 and holds 10,000
people. It was the first "soccer-specific" stadium built from the
ground up in the United States.
The main stadium was the home field of the
Hampton Roads Piranhas, a women's
team in the
W-League, which became the
de facto top women's league in the country after the
demise of the
Women's
United Soccer Association. It was originally their home from
1999 to 2002.
In 2003 the Piranhas moved their home games
to a smaller stadium on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan College near the
city's border with Norfolk
. It
was also the home field for the Virginia Beach Mariners(USL-I) and
the Virginia Beach Submariners(PDL). In 2007, the franchise was
terminated, and as a result the Piranhas acquired the Submarminers
and renamed them as the Piranhas, a reflection of their women's
team. Both teams will play at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex for the
2010 season of the W-League and the Premier Development League. The
stadium is now the home office for the Virginia Rush Organization
as well as the home venue for it's U16 and U18 US Soccer
Development Academy teams.
In 2009 the city of Virginia Beach turned over the Sportsplex to a
private firm, who changed the soccer only burmuda grass field into
a more durable multi sport friendly turf.
The Sportsplex also contains a turf practice field, and is the
central training site for the U.S. women's national
field hockey team which has two fields.
In the fall, the stadium also hosts
high school football playoff games. And Virginia Beach Trojans minor
league football