Centralia leaders discuss governance, parking and turf funding for Borst Park sports complex

City of Centralia and Centralia School District leaders, along with the Lewis County Public Facilities District (PFD) and operators of the Northwest Sports Hub LLC, presented an update March 4 on the Borst Park sports complex and outlined options to revise the governance agreement, address mounting parking congestion and complete recent turf work.

The presentation said the complex is a public-private partnership: the PFD owns the event center building, the city owns some underlying land and provided bonding for the Tiger Stadium turf, and the Northwest Sports Hub LLC operates the building under lease. Amy Buckler, deputy city manager and parks director for the City of Centralia, said the governance agreement (originally signed in 2010 and updated in 2012) “really needs to be updated” because it was negotiated before the annex and expansion were built.

The PFD chair, Ron, told the joint meeting the district was created after the 2007 floods and that its revenue comes from “point 033% of the state's portion of sales tax collected in West County.” He said the PFD has funded roughly $10 million toward the event center and related infrastructure and that the Northwest Sports Hub has invested $1,200,000 in building improvements. Ron said the PFD’s monthly receipts have grown from around $35,000 per month initially to roughly $60,000 on average today, but most of that revenue currently services bond payments tied to the original roughly $8,000,000 event-center construction.

Speakers summarized recent capital work: the governing partners and external funders paid to turf one full quad field and add infill for several fields, finish an annex and upgrade electrical capacity to allow esports. Buckler said the city, school district and PFD created a turf repair and replacement fund into which $15 per hour of field rental will be set aside; roughly $500,000 in remaining project funds were reported as available to support additional improvements, including possible parking work.

Panel members and the public identified three parking options under study: (1) angled parking along Mount Vista Road adjacent to Tiger Stadium that could add 75–100 stalls but would require sidewalk work and reconfiguration of a fence; (2) retrofitting the existing gravel lot south of the hub by removing bioswales and redirecting stormwater to nearby ponds; and (3) reconfiguring gravel lots near the Pioneer Field/soccer area or rotating soccer fields to add up to roughly 165 stalls, which may trigger floodplain and permitting constraints. Buckler emphasized any final plan would require separate approvals by the city or school board depending on land ownership.

Multiple councilors, board members and public commenters pressed for clearer accounting of who benefits locally. Buckler and Ron said prior feasibility work estimated annual visitor-driven local economic impacts in the single-digit millions but that the share actually captured by Centralia has likely fallen; speakers blamed reduced local lodging supply and visitor choices to stay elsewhere (for example Grand Mound or Chehalis). Sandy Wang of the Twin Cities Sports Commission said roughly 60% of tournament visitors stay somewhere in the broader region but the commission cannot reliably say what percent stay specifically in Centralia hotels. Wang described the commission’s “report card” method of matching hotel bookings to tournament blocks to estimate rooms attributable to sports events.

Public commenters and school officials pressed for two consistent priorities: (a) ensure the complex serves local students and youth sports (commenters said they want clearer measures showing local participation), and (b) address pedestrian and traffic safety on Mount Vista Road, especially the narrow area in front of Tiger Stadium where parents and students walk. Several public speakers urged prioritizing sidewalks and safe routes between the high school and athletic facilities.

Panelists also discussed operations and finance details the governing board wants to revisit: the hub operator pays a percentage rent (meeting comments said a base of 1% of gross with provisions to raise that to 2% over time was in the operating contract), the hub pays building insurance, utilities and interior maintenance under the lease, and the PFD has pledged to cover bond obligations through existing revenue. Ron noted the PFD’s enabling funding ends when bonds are paid off, saying “in 2047, we will have paid off the bond and our money gets cut off. What happens to the building is it goes to the city of Centralia.”

Meeting participants asked the city and partners to pursue options to capture more lodging revenue (for example targeted outreach to regional hotels, improved hotel recruitment and better downtown-event promotion), to consider short-term parking management (including the feasibility of shuttles or designated high-school overflow and whether limited paid parking is appropriate), and to preserve park space when evaluating paved parking expansions. Buckler said staff will meet weekly over the summer to monitor field use and will return to the city council and school board in the fall with recommended updates to the governance agreement.

The joint meeting also recorded two procedural motions: a motion to approve the agenda at the start of the session and a motion to adjourn at the end; both were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Next steps announced at the meeting included continuing governance-agreement revisions, further technical study of parking options and an open “community turf celebration” scheduled Friday, March 14. Buckler said staff will bring a formal proposal back to the school board and city council before any final approvals on parking or governance changes.

"We are currently revising the agreement," Buckler said. "We know that we're gonna need to come back to you and present a proposal."