CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - A Rockville based company is at the center of a new lien placed against a major sports facility in Chesterfield.
Court documents filed on Jan. 25 show the company is seeking close to a half a million dollars from SportsQuest, the 250-acre sports complex being built off Genito Road.
Founders tout it as a multi-million dollar training site for athletes who have their sights set on the Olympics.
WTVR.com obtained paperwork from Circuit Court in Chesterfield outlining the claim that alleges the company did not pay for a significant amount of work done at the East Campus on Genito Road.
Documents show J.E. Liesfeld Contractor, Inc. is seeking $497,057.26 for work on nine SportsQuest fields, as well as grading for road improvements on the campus.
The news is startling to folks like James Slaughenhaupt, who use the facility frequently. He and a friend were out exercising on one of the fields Wednesday afternoon.
“A half a million dollars -- that’s a lot of money," said Slaughenhaupt."You would think that they would have planned better and had all the finances in place before they started building it. It could put a damper on the facility as a whole.”
Daniel Vincent, who’s with the football team Virginia Tritons, practices almost daily at the complex. He said he has not seen construction crews working at the site in some time.
“I do feel bad. If people do the work, I do think they should get paid. With the economy the way it is, you just hope people would get their fair share” said Vincent.
Vincent hopes the financial wrinkles will be ironed out as soon as possible.
"If they don't get financial things straight, I don’t know. I just don’t want to lose the fields,” said Vincent.
Officials in Chesterfield said the county paid $4.3 million up front to lease 8 of the athletic fields over 20 years.
In fact, athletes in the county have already been using the fields for almost a year.
The county is also contracted to use indoor gym space once it has been built. Mike Golden, who runs the county’s parks and recreation department, said that is expected to happen by 2013.
Additionally, Golden said the county is aware of this recent lien – and that the county is protected if the project does not completely pan out.
Golden said the county is the first lien holder on the property and would have a chance to recoup their investment if certain criteria are not met.
Chesterfield officials said this lien doesn't have an immediate impact on them because they still have access to the fields at SportsQuest and there has been no interruption.
Calls to SportsQuest for comment were unreturned Wednesday.
Stay with CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for updates on this developing story.
