 Great Meadow and the Great Meadow Foundation were founded and the land donated by news executive and philanthropist Arthur W. Arundel in 1982, when the Virginia Gold Cup lost its lease on Broadview Race Course in Warrenton, VA and needed a new location.Until Arundel's donation, the property had been slated to become a development of more than 500 homes.The site has instead become a model for adaptive use of open space for community events.