Management
JAMES L. SPEROS, OWNER AND FOUNDER - Mr. Speros has an extensive background in the Hospitality and Entertainment business, as well as a long and prestigious career in sports and athletics. As a native Washingtonian, Mr. Speros grew up in Potomac, Maryland, where his family owned and operated the Normandy Farms restaurant for over 30 years. He served as President of Champions Sports Inc., which developed the highly successful Champions Sports Bar chain. He is also a founding partner of both the eCiti Café in Tyson’s Corner and the Great Falls Tavern, in Great Falls, VA. Over the past decade Mr. Speros has acquired and is a founder of several golf courses in the Mid-Atlantic Region. These include the prestigious Presidential Club in Dulles, Virginia; Virginia National in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia and Salem Glen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Mr. Speros’ sports career spans from a local star athlete at St. John’s High School in Washington, D.C. continuing into a successful football career at Clemson University playing in four bowl games, including his senior year where they won the National Championship in 1981, defeating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. He then spent the next 5 years in the National Football League as a coach with the Washington Redskins under the tutelage of Joe Gibbs and was a member of the 1982 Super Bowl Champions and the 1983 NFC Champions. He also spent two seasons coaching with the Buffalo Bills.
From 1993 to 1997 Mr. Speros was the President and Owner of two professional football franchises, The Baltimore Stallions and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Canadian Football League and Chairman of its U.S. Expansion Committee. In 1995 Mr. Speros reached the pinnacle of his CFL football career by winning the Grey Cup Championship – the first and only U.S. team in the history of the 125 year old league to accomplish this feat. In 1994, his Baltimore Stallions were honored by fellow CFL owners as its “Franchise of the Year” in recognition of its business performance in addition to reaching the Grey Cup that season. He established a landmark business model through his teams’ unique partnership with their concessionaire, The Fine Host Corp, serving over 40,000 fans per game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, and over 50,000 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada.
It his love of sports and the restaurant and entertainment business that has brought forth the newest and most exciting upscale sports restaurant and bar in Northern Virginia. As the owner and founder of Velocity Five, Mr. Speros has been asked about the name. His reply is that Velocity is about speed and quickness. Five is in reference to his five championship rings he has earned during his sports career. It is a new era. Technology has changed the way sports enthusiasts view sports today. Velocity Five has created an atmosphere where fans can watch sports in HD and dine in an upscale environment. Simply stated, he wanted a name that was cool and linked to his sports background.
More important than all of his personal accomplishments, is his contribution to the D.C metro area that makes the family of Velocity Five proud. Mr. Speros is involved with several charities which include the JB Awards, which benefits the Special Olympics for the Washington, D.C. area; The Washington, D.C.’s Sports’ Alliance’s Sneaker Ball, and was the 2007 Chairman for the Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health System gala (a subsidiary of Adventist Health Care System). He served as the Chairman of Special Olympics of Maryland, and as the Co-Chairman of the Maryland March of Dimes.