- December 28, 2024
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The city of Palm Coast is looking into building a new sports complex to draw a multi-million dollar industry to Palm Coast.
The complex would not come at a cost to taxpayers, though, Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston said in an interview with the Observer. City staff, at the direction of the City Council, will consider options for a public-private partnership and other funding opportunities.
“We look at this being that economic catalyst for growth of Palm Coast,” Johnston said.
In 2022, Palm Coast asked Sports Facilities Companies to conduct a feasibility survey so the council could see what, if any, kind of sports complex would fit in Palm Coast. Evan Eleff, a representative from Sports Facilities Companies, presented the results of that survey at a Dec. 12 City Council meeting.
It could cost about $90 million to construct both indoor and outdoor facilities. But, Eleff said, a sports facility could have an economic impact of $30 million in direct spending in its first year alone, if there are 37 events held there in the first year.
“Our projection, with confidence, on a conservative level, is that this facility can and will cover its own operating costs by year three,” Eleff said.
Johnston said that the Indian Trails Sports Complex, built in 2005 on Belle Terre Boulevard, has already demonstrated, on a smaller scale, the kind of revenue a sports complex could generate.
“Back in the recession, that’s what sort of kept the business community ... afloat,” Johnston said. “As the city continues to grow … this just kind of fits in naturally.”
If the complex gets the green light, Johnston said, the city would place it along the eventual westward expansion of Matanzas Woods Parkway.
The concept idea proposed for Palm Coast would be a 180-acre facility with a 112,000-square-foot indoor facility and almost 43 acres of outdoor use.
The indoor facility would house eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, a kitchen and concession, a medical center and mixed-use meeting spaces.
The outside fields would include four multi-purpose fields, 16 synthetic turf fields, a multi-use path, a play area and a space for a future championship field, plus ample parking.
The revenue derived from a complex like this would help remove some of the tax burden from residents, Johnston said.
Eleff said the facility would also generate business opportunities for hotels, restaurants and other businesses that would serve groups that stay for a tournament.
The downside is that there is not much grant funding for such a project.
Eleff public-private partnerships are common in this industry.
“Today, these complexes that get built, about 85% of them that we work on, have a significant public-private partnership,” Eleff said.
The concept idea does not include a pool because of their high maintenance costs and the low demand for travel tournaments in swimming, he said.
The City Council agreed that the next step would be for city staff to scope out funding opportunities.
“Let’s see if we can get those partners,” Vice Mayor Ed Danko said. “Obviously, we have to find money to do this.”
Johnston said staff will reach out to local stakeholders to see if they are interested.
“We can make this from concept to reality, but if we’re going to make it a reality, who’s going to come to the table to help us,” she said.
