Greenville council approves lease with East Carolina University for North Recreation Complex, aims to expand sports tourism

Greenville City Council voted unanimously Sept. 8 to approve a lease agreement with East Carolina University (ECU) for the North Recreation Complex on Highway 264 that staff said will support a multi-field sports complex intended to expand tourism and recreation opportunities.

City staff and local tourism officials told the council the complex would allow Greenville to host larger regional tournaments and generate visitor spending. Don Octagon, the city's executive director of recreation and parks and capital projects, described the lease structure, timing and what the city would gain from the facilities.

The council's vote followed presentations from Octagon and Andrew Schmidt, president and CEO of Visit Greenville, and a brief question-and-answer period. Octagon said the agreement gives the city access to the site after a transition period that runs to Dec. 31, 2026, and that the lease has a primary term of 50 years with a single renewal option that could extend total tenure to no more than 99 years. Octagon also told the council the city would have exclusive use for tournaments and would be responsible for operations and maintenance after the transition.

Why it matters: presenters said the complex would increase the city's ability to attract sports tournaments that generate hotel stays, restaurant and retail spending, and other hospitality-sector revenue. Victus Advisors' feasibility work and the city's sports task force were cited as the evidence base for expected economic benefits.

Key details and financing: Octagon said the agreement requires an initial cash outlay of $3,000,000. He and other presenters described additional lease and project-related funding that staff said together bring the city's total cash outlay and lease commitments to a projected $13,000,000 over the lease term; the city's budget amendment adopted the same night establishes a $14,000,000 sports complex project budget in capital project management and occupancy tax funds. Octagon and city staff said the initial outlay will be paid from the city's general capital reserve and occupancy-tax-related capital funds and that ongoing lease payments and operating costs are expected to be funded from tournament revenues, field rentals and other services.

Economic impact claims: speakers attributed a Victus Advisors study showing increased overnight stays and local spending to an expanded complex. During the presentation, council heard the study's conservative estimate of roughly 75,000 additional overnight hotel room nights annually and an annual local spending impact in the neighborhood of $40 million to $42 million; Visit Greenville's Schmidt said additional field capacity would let Greenville host tournaments it has previously turned away.

Facilities and expansion plans: the North Recreation Complex is an existing 128-acre site with eight lighted natural-grass rectangle fields, a maintenance facility, a field house with restrooms, a disc-golf course, sand volleyball court, a six-acre lake and parking. City staff said the plan is to add four additional rectangle fields (bringing the site to 12 fields) to support larger tournaments; staff and the sports commission indicated a design/engineering phase would begin immediately once required approvals are in place.

Council questions and schedule: Councilmember Blackburn asked about annual lease figures; presenters referenced per-year payments and a multi-decade payment stream but the transcript record contains inconsistent per-year figures. City staff emphasized the $3 million initial payment and the $13 million total (initial outlay plus lease payments) as the clearest summary in the record. The council was told the UNC Board of Governors is scheduled to consider the lease on Sept. 17; staff said the proposed effective date is Oct. 1 and that city staff would return to council in January 2026 with a transition and operating plan update.

Council action: Mayor Pro Tem Burton Daniels moved the motion to approve the lease; Councilmember Robinson seconded. The motion passed 6-0.

What happens next: if the Board of Governors approves the lease, city staff said design and engineering for the four additional fields will proceed and the city will begin transition planning to take over operations after Dec. 31, 2026. Staff also told council the occupancy-tax (hotel-tax) fund and the Visitors Authority are slated as funding partners for capital work tied to the complex.

Closing detail: in public remarks during the presentation, Visit Greenville's Schmidt said flag football, lacrosse and other rectangle-field sports are growing tournament markets and that additional field capacity would help Greenville retain and expand events that bring out-of-town visitors and associated economic activity.