News Item Details
Parks, Recreation & Tourism Department Releases Annual Report
2/26/2013
Fincastle, VA – Demand for recreation programs and facilities in Botetourt County remains stable, while the number of visitors to the County shows steady increases over the past year.
According to the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism’s Annual Report, 11,568 individuals participated in recreation programs in 2012, while the County’s Sports Complex Tournament Schedule and Tourism Office marketing efforts, including “The Botetourt County Wine Trail” and “The Upper James River Water Trail,” appear to be contributing to an increased number of visitors to Botetourt.
“The County has placed an emphasis over the past several years in enhancing the overall quality of our recreational programs and facilities while not overburdening an already challenged budget”, said Richard Peters, Director of the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department. “This increased focus has not only served our residents well, but has also attracted many more visitors to our County.”
Additional figures and achievements for 2012 are as follows:
Recreational Programming
- 4,410 participants in youth recreation activities (including athletic leagues)
- 1,812 participants in adult recreation activities
- 1,386 participants in senior and accessible van services
- 3,960 participants in community and special event activities
Office of Tourism
- continued progress with the National Park Service for the proposed eastward continuation and extension of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the placement of a historical marker at the Courthouse
- public boating access infrastructure improvements at Springwood and the development of the two new public access points at Gala and Alpine along the Upper James River Water Trail that were funded through donations and grants
- the Botetourt County Wine Trail Summer Concert Series that consisted of five individual concerts held at Daleville Town Center and the three individual farm wineries of Fincastle, Blue Ridge and Virginia Mountain
- the Open Studios Tour consisting of a self-guided tour of 20 Botetourt County artisan workshops
Botetourt Sports Complex
- named Amateur Softball Association’s (ASA) National Complex of the Year
- Hosted 33 local, state, regional and national championship events, representing 656 teams from 23 different states.
- Realized 2,644 Botetourt County room nights, resulting in a 30% increase over 2011 and realizing a 25% market share of all the hotel room nights directly attributed to sports tournaments hosted in the Roanoke Valley.
- Hosted thousands of county residents during the Botetourt Youth Opening Weekend and SOL Stress Buster, Spring and Fall Adult Men’s and Co-Ed Softball Tournaments and high school play including the Botetourt Bash Invitational, and Three Rives District, and Region C Softball Tournaments.
For more information, contact
Richard “Pete” Peters, Director
Parks, Recreation & Tourism
540-473-8326 ppeters@botetourt.org
