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Sunflower Sports seeks roughly $336,000–$450,000 in TGT funds to add lights, expand tournaments
Summary
Sunflower Sports Association asked the TGT committee for funding for phase 1 of a five-year Project Next Gen expansion, primarily to add lighting and parking illumination to extend play into evenings and increase tournament capacity.
Sunflower Sports Association asked the Transient Guest Tax Committee on March 6 for TGT support for phase 1 of a five-year expansion called Project Next Gen, seeking funding mainly for stadium and parking-lot lighting.
Executive Director TJ McDonald and board president Dustin Gale presented the plan, saying new lights would allow evening play, expand tournament capacity and make the complex eligible to bid for larger events that require lit fields. McDonald told the committee the group expects phase 1 proposals from lighting vendors at roughly $336,000 for key field and parking lighting, with an additional optional package to add more parking-lot illumination.
Nut graf: Sunflower said the lighting would let two major tournaments — Governors Cup and Nightmare — add roughly 20 teams each, and the organization said even small tournaments bring hotel room demand (one small April event is requiring 55 rooms). The group estimated completed complex operations could generate $1.7 million to $2.5 million in economic impact per tournament once the entire multi-phase expansion is finished.
Staff financial context: City finance staff told the committee the Sunflower fund has about $700,000 but must cover existing special-assessment payments from earlier projects (roughly $275,000 this year and next) and an administrative fee (about $10,000–$15,000). Staff said a rough estimate of funds available for distribution in 2025 is approximately $450,000 once those obligations are reserved.
Committee members asked for more historical detail: how long Sunflower has been a contract recipient (resolutions date to about 2012), year-by-year disbursement history, and an overall budget for the multi-phase project. Sunflower representatives said they were still finalizing long-range budgets and will pursue sponsorships for later phases; for this phase they seek committee consideration for a 2025 award to fund lighting.
Ending: Staff said they will draft a resolution for the committee’s review to release the next draw (the $450,000 figure under discussion) and follow up with Sunflower on historical payment records and a detailed project budget before final action.
