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Consultants present $168M concept for 600‑acre sports tourism complex; commission urged partnership planning
Summary
Consultants detailed a proposed 600‑acre sports tourism complex with 16 synthetic turf fields, a 200,000 sq ft indoor center and optional 10,000‑seat stadium, estimating total development cost near $168–170 million and modeled operational subsidy that falls at maturity; commissioners emphasized need for multi‑partner funding and phased development.
Consultants from Sports Facilities Companies presented a concept plan Dec. 4 for a long‑range, regional sports tourism complex on about 600 acres the city owns near West International Speedway Boulevard.
Dan Morton, vice president of predevelopment services, described a program that includes approximately 16 outdoor synthetic turf flex fields; a roughly 200,000‑square‑foot indoor facility configurable for 10 basketball courts (or 20 volleyball courts) and almost 90,000 sq ft of flat event space; and an optional mid‑tier stadium in the 10,000‑seat range. Morton said the athletic complex footprint could require about 96 acres for indoor/outdoor programming and an additional 35 acres if the stadium is included.
The consultants presented an opinion of probable cost including operational startup and marketing and stated an estimated capital cost of about $134 million for the athletic complex and roughly $34 million for a stadium, producing a combined 170‑million‑dollar figure. They modeled revenues (tournaments, local programming, concessions and sponsorship) and expenses under a conservative operating scenario and said the facility would likely require an operational subsidy in early years (modeled at about $1.4M) declining to roughly $470,000 annually at maturity without naming rights or an anchor professional tenant.
Morton stressed that projects of this scale typically require multi‑jurisdictional and private partnerships, phased construction and careful operations planning. He and commissioners discussed booking timelines (12–18 months preopening lead time), the need for CVB and county participation, and the potential for nearly 611,000 new non‑local days in market at maturity and an annual direct economic impact estimate approaching $100 million.
No formal action was requested that night; staff were directed to continue partnership outreach and return with further information if partners are identified.
Next steps: staff to meet potential partners, refine phasing and financing options and present a follow‑up briefing to the commission.
