County of Genesee, Mi – The Council of County Commissioners examines whether sports tourism and a new complex could give the region the economic strengthening it needs.
Representatives of companies who design, build and manage sports complexes told commissioners at a meeting of the Committee on Wednesday, April 16, that there is potential for a public complex here, but more studies are necessary.
The region “corresponds to the model of the place where an interior or interior-outdoor sports complex would do very well,” said Gary Johnson, director of business development for Arco National Construction Company. “We think there is a real value to put a complex here.”
The commissioners and the Flint & Genesee group talked about the potential for the development of sports complexes here before and paid a limited feasibility study in 2019, but the idea never gained ground.
A new study could give a clearer objective on the market and demography today, officials said.
Johnson said that an installation for weekend sports tournaments would provide the county with a community asset as well as a “economic engine”.
Such a complex could be mainly used locally during the week, he told the commissioners, while “the money of others (could) help to finance this project on weekends when they participate in tournaments”.
Since the last time that the county of Genesee considered a sports complex, a law of the state has changed, allowing counties with a population between 40,000 and 600,000 people to increase local taxes on hotel chambers from 5% to 8% with the approval of voters.
Kent County voters approved a Referendum to increase your hotel taxes In 2024, and the Kent Board of Commissioners Approved a request Later in the same year to use tax revenue to make payments on an $ 100 million obligation for the construction of an 8,500-seat football stadium in downtown Grand Rapids.
The county of Genesee currently assesses a 5% hotel tax and uses the product to support special events, the county parks system and economic development.
The commissioners have already prioritized the pursuit of a sports complex, chatting in a long -term planning workshop a few hours before the meeting of the committee on Wednesday.
The chairman of the Board of Directors of the County, Delrico Loyd, described the idea of ”the potential opportunity to bring something to the community” which can trigger economic development, night remains and population growth.
If discussions continue, county officials should always pin a location – potentially 60 or more acres – and determine a funding flow before choosing a developer, management, as well as the scale and design of the complex.
Johnson and Eric McCAfferty, Regional Vice-President of Business Development in Sports Installation Companies, said that an interior, outdoor or interior combined installation is possible and that Softball suggested could be an area of interest.
“The state of Michigan is a poorly served by this type of installation,” said McCafferty. “There is a (product) lack on the market, which leads Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to obtain many Michigan teams and economic impact.”
Johnson said that independently of targeted sports, a complex could also be used for conventions, trade fairs and special events.
“The way you have to think about it is like an economic engine … It is spending money in the community. It is spending the night in hotels. It is (people) in restaurants (and) spending money in your stores,” he said.
The cost of a complex would depend on the development scale, the location and the cost of acquisition and the preparation of the site.
Johnson said that new sports complexes need a coherent source of income because they generally lose money in the first years of operation.