The Playbook

Our region is rich with assets that few others can match: world-class port facilities, an unparalleled defense presence, a growing energy sector, and a legacy of innovation that sent a man to the moon and allows us all to reach for the stars. Team Hampton Roads has been ready for the big leagues, and our turn has arrived.

For much of the 21st century, Hampton Roads has watched from the sidelines while other regions put points on the board. In the early 2000s, a surge in defense spending following 9/11 gave our economy a temporary lift, but the global recession of 2008 halted that momentum. Old Dominion University’s State of the Region called the 2010s “a lost decade” as sequestration and lingering effects from the recession left Hampton Roads stuck on the bench while other regions ran up the score. Then came COVID-19 and a pandemic-induced recession, raising fears of yet another lost decade.

But out of those challenges a new economic order has emerged, an order that plays directly to our strengths. Bruce Katz, the renowned urban economic strategist from Drexel University, has described the post-pandemic American economy as one “driven by national security concerns, sensitive technologies, critical minerals, a redrawing of domestic and global supply chains, and, remarkably, a reshoring of advanced production.” Hampton Roads is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation.  Thanks in part to funding from the GO Virginia program, the Alliance and our partners sought to develop a strategy to reflect this reality and how we can win. 

The Hampton Roads Playbook is a shared regional plan that highlights our collective assets and outlines a strategy for success. It’s a guide that enables us to make the right moves, send the right players onto the field, and leverage our strengths to score points. We are aligning behind the four sectors that form the foundation of our regional economy: Defense, Energy, Aerospace, and Logistics (DEAL).

These are not new pursuits; they are the pillars that have long sustained Hampton Roads. defense and logistics are core historic pillars, and the rapid growth of energy production and aerospace creates remarkable opportunities for the region. What is new, however, is our deliberate focus on deepening and accelerating growth in these sectors. In doing so, we are diversifying within our strengths, not away from them, expanding the impact of what already defines us. Growth in these sectors will also ripple outward, strengthening every corner of our economy, from construction and architecture to finance, insurance, higher education, retail, tourism, and healthcare. 

The DEAL Framework also utilizes four cross-cutting drivers—Workforce, Innovation, Infrastructure, and Supply Chain—to clarify our next plays: transformative projects that build on our advantages to drive investment and create jobs.

Eight such projects have already emerged, but the Playbook is designed for the long game. Beyond the first set of initiatives, we’ve outlined a framework for creating future projects and stand ready to work with regional stakeholders to shape what comes next. Take a look and see how you, your community, your organization, and our region can help score points and emerge victorious.  

The Hampton Roads Alliance is proud to serve as the region’s convener and catalyst bringing together public and private partners to put this Playbook into action. In partnership with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council and working alongside our regional partners, localities and private investors, we are committed to aligning behind one unifying economic strategy.   Together, we are moving from chasing companies to cultivating ecosystems, building the conditions where businesses thrive, talent grows, and opportunity multiplies.

Success will require every one of us leveraging our strengths for the good of the team, guided by a shared roadmap for growth. Now is the time to put on your Team Hampton Roads jersey, step onto the field, and play to win. 

This is our moment — let’s seize it.