CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - Shaw Industries, Inc. purchased SportsQuest during an auction outside the Chesterfield County courthouse Tuesday, according to CBS 6 reporter Sandra Jones.
North Carolina-based Shaw, which was the sole bidder, paid $4.7 million for the sprawling 250-acre property near Route 288. That is far less than some believe the property is worth.
Shaw is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which is owned by Billionaire investor Warren Buffet. Shaw was also the company that the foreclosed on the sports complex after it defaulted on a $15 million loan.
For now, the property will continue to be used for sporting events. That's welcome news to some Chesterfield parents.
"I don't want to see any housing going in there,” said Kevin Gabriele. “I don't think we need anymore housing here. We need more sports."
And with more families moving into the county, Gabriele believes sports like lacrosse and soccer are just what his kids and others need to stay out of trouble.
"This is brand new. It's only been here a few years and it's just the greatest thing that ever happened to Chesterfield,” said Gabriele.
And county leaders couldn't agree more.
"If you go out there and look at the site on a Monday or Thursday night, all nine fields have folks out there playing and that's a good story there too,” said Mike Golden, Director of Chesterfield department of Parks and Recreation.
However, Golden the property has also had its share of financial issues, which have created hardships for some.
The new owners have 30 days to close on the property and even though Chesterfield has a 20 year lease to use the athletic fields, potential buyers could -- with county approval -- use the property for residential or commercial development.
Golden said the county is in talks with the new owners, but so far there has been no decision.
In a statement last week, Sportsquest LLC’s Board of Directors will not attempt to stop the scheduled foreclosure by Shaw Industries because the Board believes that the amount of debt owed on the real estate is significantly more than the value of the real estate.
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