4,000 local youth soccer players to benefit from Sportsplex improvements

VIRGINIA BEACH -- More than 4,000 youth soccer players in Virginia Beach will soon find themselves playing in the Virginia Beach Sportsplex on the same turf used by professional and college football teams such as the New Orleans Saints and the University of Alabama.

Principals of Hometown Sports Management and Virginia Rush Soccer announced a partnership today that:
- makes the Sportsplex the soccer club's official home
- converts the all-grass field to quality synthetic turf developed and installed by Sportexe. The turf has passed the testing requirements to qualify as a FIFA 1-Star surface.
- makes Rush Soccer a partner in the development of the Sportsplex as the multi-sport center of athletics in Virginia Beach and beyond.

Hometown Sports Management assumed management of the Virginia Beach Sportsplex in cooperation with the City of Virginia Beach earlier this year.

Virginia Rush Soccer is a regional entity that formed when three local clubs merged with Virginia Beach Soccer Club. There are 24 Rush Soccer clubs in the U.S.

The Virginia Rush is the only soccer club in southeastern Virginia to have developmental, advanced, and competitive programs under one club. It is also the only club in southeastern Virginia to be a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and Elite Club National League, the top two national-level leagues in the country. The club currently has 4,000 players participating in various programs.

Sportexe is the oldest synthetic turf company in the U.S. It has manufactured and installed approximately 400 full-sized athletic fields in North America, including the University of Alabama, the University of Arkansas, Baltimore Ravens, and the Superdome in New Orleans. The San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills use Sportexe in their practice facilities.