Revitalizing Military Circle: Developers to present proposals to Norfolk City Council

Trevor Metcalfe

Norfolk native and S.B. Ballard founder Stephen Ballard has fond memories of the Military Circle area’s heyday. At Bennigan’s, his usual Friday night hangout, cocktails were 75 cents and nachos were $3. “It was great,” Ballard said.

Ballard and his partners hope to bring that nostalgia back. The group was one of three finalists to present redevelopment proposals for Military Circle mall to Norfolk City Council members in a series of meetings Thursday and Saturday.

Ballard’s team, which also includes former NFL star Emmitt Smith, hopes to construct a 15,000-seat arena along with a mix of retail offices, housing, green space and a 128-room hotel. The arena would be operated by ASM Global, which also manages the Cypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles and the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Chuck Steedman, an ASM vice president, called the arena a “perfect, perfect anchor” for the project. ASM President and CEO Ron Bension, appearing by video call, said the Norfolk market was great but underserved for music performances. Once built, he said the arena will be “the best music venue in the region.”

Developers want to begin construction in 2023 and finish the arena by May 2026. Construction would be complete in 2029.

A proposal from Virginia Beach developer Bruce Thompson and others is not anchored by an arena. Instead, The Well would feature a 9-acre lake centerpiece and a 5,000-seat amphitheater. The development also would include more than 477,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel, 864 housing units and more than 159,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space.

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