Coming to Springfield, Virginia in September 2018 is The St. James, a new sports and wellness complex that will be distinguished if, for nothing else, by its sheer size. The complex will be 450,000 square feet (no, there were no accidental zeroes there), which the Washingtonian compared, for size, to “20 H&M stores put together, or more than 100 McDonald’s.”
Construction just broke on the complex, which will have so many components to it that listing them all sounds mildly ludicrous. Again, from the Washingtonian: “There will be a FIFA regulation-sized turf field, two NHL regulation-sized ice rinks, four full-length basketball courts (which can transform into nine volleyball courts), an Olympic regulation-sized pool, six batting cages, eight international regulation-sized squash courts, seven golf simulators, 3,000 feet of climbing and bouldering walls, a gymnastics training center, a 50,000-square-foot health club gym, a spa, and a sports medicine center.”
But as if that wasn’t enough, there will also be a water park (6,000 square feet, all indoors), an “active entertainment center” featuring diversions like obstacle courses, zip lines, trampolines, virtual reality, and a gaming theater, whatever that is. A restaurant and a sports shop round out the ridiculous list of offerings.
The St. James’ founders, Kendrick Ashton and Craig Dixon in partnership with Cain International, acknowledge that while today’s trend is for gyms that are smaller and more boutique-like in their offerings, the St James’ “all in one” setup will be extremely appealing to families in the area. Ashton says that, instead of all the members of a busy family going in “85 different directions” to undertake their sports hobbies and wellness endeavors, now they can have everything they need under one roof.
?Ashton and Dixon, who are old college buddies, say that they toured several mega-sized sports complexes around the country before deciding that the Northern Virginia and D.C. metro area needed one of its own. Dixon says that the St. James is looking to offer the public a “consistent and really high-quality” experience by providing all of the health and wellness programming they’d expect from a gym, along with all sports equipment. Anyone can come and purchase a class or buy time at the St. James, but individual and family memberships will be available. Memberships are already for sale on the complex’s website. And oh, yeah - the St. James will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With everything you want under one roof, you’ll not only never want to leave, but you won’t actually have to, either.
