Tuckahoe Park's Bond Contract Is Built for Visitors Who Don't Have a Team
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
"There was concern that we could jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the bonds if it was used for what could be described as private activity at the park," Henrico County Attorney Andrew Newby told the Henrico Citizen in 2024.
That sentence explains the project that broke ground at Tuckahoe Park on Sept. 9. The $13.8 million contract for 2400 Little League Drive is paid for by the bond referendum Henrico voters approved in 2016. The county describes the project as updating the sports fields and adding amenities. The bigger Little League upgrades are being handled separately. Tuckahoe Little League and Tuckahoe Sports, Inc. hold exclusive rights to the fields during the Little League season, so county officials concluded the complex wasn't fully "public" and couldn't be improved with general obligation bonds. The county scaled back the bond plans for the complex and planned the Little League upgrades with other money.
That leaves the bond contract's itemized work aimed mostly at people who come to the park without a team.
The contract the Board of Supervisors approved on Aug. 25 lists the work in plain terms:
Henrico's project page says the trails, sidewalks and bridge will connect the existing athletic fields to the new playground, and it lists added parking near the John Rolfe entrance. According to the Henrico Citizen, the new amenities will be open to the public during park hours once they're finished.
The project page also lists sports field improvements among the park's amenities and says field work has begun and will continue, but none of the field work appears as a line item in the construction contract. You don't need a roster spot to use anything on the contract's list. A family with a toddler, a neighbor walking a dog after dinner and a grandparent who has trouble on uneven ground are the users this list describes.
The current scope looks small next to what was described four years ago. In December 2022, 12 On Your Side reported on a $16 million expansion that would add two new turf baseball fields, a new entrance off John Rolfe Parkway, a new park access street and lighting, plus a playground, batting cages, bathrooms, picnic shelters and a rebound wall. The Henrico Citizen says the original bond proposal put before voters in 2016 was a $16 million restructuring of the field layout along with that new John Rolfe entrance.
| December 2022 description | August 2026 bond contract | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $16 million | $13,783,000 fixed price |
| Fields | Two new turf baseball fields | Not in the contract; existing fields linked by new paths |
| Entrance | New John Rolfe Parkway entrance and access street | Not listed; added parking near the John Rolfe entrance |
| Restrooms | Bathrooms | Two new accessible restroom buildings, existing ones redone |
| Parking | Not detailed | One new paved lot, two existing lots repaved |
| Playground | Yes | Accessible community playground |
| Other | Batting cages, picnic shelters, rebound wall | Trails, sidewalks, pedestrian bridge, storm drainage |
The ballfields weren't forgotten. The Citizen reports that the county scaled back the bond project and used other funding, estimated at about $7 million, to plan the Little League upgrades, and that separate work on the baseball and softball fields and batting cages is already partly done. The county's project page says field improvements "have begun and will be ongoing." Whether the field work will include the two turf diamonds from 2022, and what will happen to the new John Rolfe entrance and access street, hasn't been settled in anything the county has published.
One number may cause confusion. Henrico's project page still shows an estimated cost of $16 million, while the contract awarded to Kenbridge Construction Co. is $13,783,000. The same board action also approved an additional $3,658,807 for the project. The contract amount is the price of the construction itself, and the larger figures describe the overall project budget.
The park is busy enough that the field split matters. In 2022, Tuckahoe Little League President Brydon DeWitt said spring enrollment rose from 1,150 to 1,400 players between 2019 and 2022, and fall ball grew from 450 to 806 players over the same span. He said the league had so many players that the county was lending it middle school fields and other off-site fields for practices.
A league that big fills the fields, and its exclusive use during the season is what put those fields outside what tax-exempt bonds could pay for. The construction contract's itemized work went to the parts of the park that don't belong to any one group: restrooms, parking, paths and the playground.
The groundbreaking speeches came back to the same everyday problems. Speakers mentioned teams carrying equipment across the gravel parking lots and families struggling to pull wagons over the dirt, and said paved trails and lots would also help people who come to walk their dogs. They described the new drainage as a way to keep stormwater from flooding the fields, walking paths and parking lots.
"This is one of the most substantial investments in community amenities since the county purchased it almost 20 years ago. Tuckahoe Park will be more accessible and fun for Little League families, neighbors and all visitors." Tuckahoe District Supervisor Jody K. Rogish
Rogish's list ends with neighbors and all visitors. Most of what the Kenbridge contract builds is meant for them.
Ten years passed between the bond vote and the groundbreaking. The public record shows steady work in that time, though it never gives a single reason for the delay.
The 2022 forecast missed by more than three years. The bond issue the county attorney described is the clearest documented reason the plan had to be reworked.
Recreation & Parks Director John Zannino said at the ceremony that he had spent nearly four years since his appointment working with Tuckahoe Little League and Tuckahoe Sports on a plan that would keep the "historic integrity" of the baseball and softball complex intact. He also played at the complex nearly 30 years ago and still serves on the Little League's board.
The county says the park and its athletic fields will stay open throughout construction. That promise covers the park as a whole. Henrico hasn't published a phasing plan that says when either existing lot will be torn up for repaving or which walkways will be fenced off at a given time.
Fall ball is happening alongside the first weeks of work. The league's Fall Ball page lists practices starting Sept. 11 and games from Sept. 18 through Nov. 6. The contract allows 515 calendar days from a September 2026 start, and the county expects to finish in spring 2028. That means all of the spring 2027 season and fall 2027 ball will be played next to an active construction site.
Three things are worth watching over the next year and a half:
Tuckahoe Park isn't the only park project in the district. County officials at the groundbreaking pointed to work at Tuckahoe Creek Park and a future park near Maybeury Elementary School.
If you live near Tuckahoe Park and want to know how a two-year construction project and a new public playground nearby might affect what your home is worth, Kelly Blanchard can walk you through it whenever the timing suits you. Ask for a free home valuation and we'll give you a straight answer.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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