Kemper Sports says Dawson Park could draw sports tourism but models show operating subsidy; commissioners press for taxpayer cost details

Kemper Sports presented a market and feasibility study for Dawson Park at the Oconee County Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 2, outlining a multi‑phase plan that aims to serve local recreation needs while generating sports‑tourism revenue.

Steve Gorris, senior vice president of Kemper Sports, introduced the project team and passed the presentation to Richard Stiffenger, who summarized the market analysis and the firm’s development scenarios. Stiffenger said the Phase 1 concept includes roughly 92 acres with space for 10 full‑size outdoor multipurpose fields and parking; future phases could add six more fields and a roughly 90,000‑square‑foot indoor sport complex capable of eight basketball courts (crosslined) or 16 volleyball courts.

Stiffenger emphasized the county’s regional advantage: “We believe very strongly that the county has the ability to establish itself as a destination within the broader region,” citing a 2½– to 4‑hour drive‑time market that the consultants used to model demand. Using scenarios that compare synthetic turf and natural grass, Kemper projected the indoor‑and‑outdoor synthetic‑turf model could support up to 62 events annually at maturity and generate about $26,500,000 in direct spending in the county (year 5), with roughly $950,000 in incremental hotel and sales tax revenue modeled.

Kemper cautioned the board that operational performance varies by design choices. “A healthy goal for any sports‑tourism development is to get as close to breakeven operationally by year 5,” Stiffenger said, while also acknowledging many municipal complexes require an ongoing operating subsidy during early years. The consultants recommended budgeting reserves for capital replacement and running sensitivity tests on turf vs. grass, phasing, and programming mixes to improve financial outcomes.

Commissioners questioned the assumptions behind the projections, focusing on three issues: the amount of taxpayer subsidy the county would need to provide, how 55,183 projected year‑5 room nights translate into required hotel inventory, and whether the county can capture nonlocal spending before new lodging and restaurants are built. Commissioner (Speaker 4) said he did not want residents to depart assuming the project would be a moneymaker and pressed for the “bottom line” taxpayer cost; Kemper responded that a portion of scenarios show operational subsidy is likely but that the larger economic impact accrues to local restaurants, hotels and retailers as visitor spending is captured.

Kemper and county staff also discussed phasing and site work. The consultant said early civil infrastructure—grading and pad‑ready work—can be staged to reduce future remobilization costs and preserve options for future fields and indoor facilities.

Next steps recommended by Kemper include finalizing the turf vs. grass decision for Phase 1 outdoor fields, completing facility design and funding structure, confirming program and operating models, and starting park branding and marketing. The presentation concluded with a question‑and‑answer period during which Kemper committed to provide rostered follow‑up items, including the hotel‑room calculation that would convert projected room nights into a target number of rooms.