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Clayton County approves hotel-motel tax funding for FIFA activations at Gerald Matthews, arena
Summary
The Board of Commissioners approved a budget amendment to fund FIFA activation events at Gerald Matthews Sports Complex (July 7) and the county arena (July 15), using hotel/motel (sales) tax revenue rather than the general fund; parks staff said activations will introduce 400–600 children to soccer and include arena watch parties aimed at attracting visitors and hotel stays.
The Clayton County Board of Commissioners voted June 16 to approve budget amendment BA-260 to fund FIFA activation sites at the Gerald Matthews Sports Complex and the county arena, with events scheduled July 7 and July 15.
County staff and parks leaders told commissioners the requested funds would come from hotel-motel (sales) tax revenue rather than the general fund. "Hotel-motel tax is actually sales tax," a county official explained, adding that those revenues are often used to support entertainment and attraction programming to bring visitors and "heads and beds" to local hotels.
Parks and recreation Director Nicole Horn said the Gerald Matthews activation is focused on youth engagement: "When we activate this program for the youth at Gerald Matthews Park, it will be between 400 and 600 kids that will be introduced to the game of soccer," she said, describing soccer drills, small-sided tournaments and a watch-party environment for the noon matches. The arena activation will be an enclosed "watch party with the flare of a concert," staff said, combining viewing opportunities with floor activations for families and adult attendees.
Supporters argued the events are part of a longer-term strategy to market Clayton County regionally and internationally, attract visitors, and seed sports-economy development. "This attraction is both promoting our county locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally," one official said, adding that county advertising had already begun on airport screens and billboards.
Several commissioners pushed back on whether the advertised outreach and procurement had been properly shared with the board before advertising began. One commissioner asked whether the board had reviewed airport advertisements; staff said advertising had run for more than a month and that the county's communications department produced the materials and a web landing page for the campaign (claytoncountyga.gov/...). Staff also reiterated that if the board declined the funding, cities in the county would still run other FIFA-related activities.
After discussion about public benefit, funding sources and the need to upgrade parks and facilities to host tournament-level play, the board voted to approve BA-260. The motion carried after a brief exchange in which at least one commissioner voiced a "nay" during the roll call but the amendment was adopted by the board.
