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Davis County approves tourism-fund lease payments to general fund for Western Sports Park land
Summary
The commission approved a resolution directing annual lease payments from the tourism fund to the general fund for land used exclusively for the Western Sports Park, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, with payments calculated from the 2024 assessed land value and continuing for at least 30 years.
The Davis County Commission on Tuesday adopted a resolution directing the tourism fund to make annual lease payments to the general fund for land used exclusively by the Western Sports Park, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and continuing for a minimum of 30 years.
The resolution traces decades of prior county action: a 1968 general obligation bond to finance a county hospital left surplus proceeds that were used later, in 1988, to buy land near the Farmington public safety complex. In 2022 the county issued $50 million in sales tax revenue bonds and committed another $20 million in tourism tax dollars to develop a regional youth-sports destination on that land, now named Western Sports Park and slated for completion in 2025.
Citing Utah law authorizing use of transient-room and sales-tax-derived tourism funds for sports and recreation facilities, the resolution states the tourism fund will pay the general fund annually to compensate for exclusive tourism-related use of the park property. The county used the Davis County assessor’s estimated 2024 raw land value, $22,450,241.48, as the basis; lease payments will be calculated using 8% of fair market value with a 2% annual escalator, the resolution says. The area designated for exclusive tourism use was described in the resolution as approximately 55.06 acres.
During discussion, commissioners sought clarification about whether the figures shown were 2024 or 2025 values. A county official noted the presentation on screen used 2025 numbers but the resolution text reflected 2024 assessed values. Controller Curtis Koch provided the year-one payment estimate used for 2025: “for the year 2025, it will be $1,796,019.32,” he said.
Commissioner Bob Stevenson moved to approve the resolution (identified in meeting materials as resolution 2025-11) and Commissioner Loreen Kamalu seconded. The motion carried unanimously among commissioners present.
The resolution also directs that lease payments be deposited to the general fund capital account (fund 45, subject to future fund-number changes), begin Jan. 1, 2025, and continue annually for at least 30 years or until the land is no longer used by the tourism fund. The county will apply the 2% annual escalator to payments computed from the 2024 assessed value; the resolution becomes effective on adoption.
The resolution cites Utah Code §17-31-2 and §59-12-603 and Davis County Code §3.04.0.15 as authorizing statutes and local code provisions for tourism-fund uses. The county did not make additional appropriations at the meeting; it approved the administrative framework for annual lease payments.
