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Council members push arts and sports plan to boost Hartsville tourism
Summary
At a Hartsville strategic-planning session, council members proposed using prominent public art at city entrances, new welcome signs and expanded sports tournaments to change the town image and attract visitor spending. Staff were asked to return costs and logistics for signs, field use and hospitality packages.
Council members at a Hartsville strategic-planning meeting discussed using public art and sports to reshape the town's image and draw visitors.
A council member opened the discussion by urging the installation of large, visible pieces of art at major entrances and by emphasizing sports tournaments as an economic driver: —aesthetic entrances create reasons for people to stop,— the speaker said, adding that visitors who come for art or tournaments spend money on sandwiches, hotels and retail. The same speaker said the town already has interest from partners and is working toward acquiring the first piece of public art.
Council members also discussed welcome-sign replacement: staff said two new city welcome signs are funded through American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars and that a damaged sign will be replaced through insurance. Proposed installations discussed included Fourth Street, North Fifth Street and the Patrick Highway approach. A cost figure of about $25,000 per sign (including some landscaping) was cited as an approximate estimate.
The conversation turned to sports tourism. Speakers cited a recent baseball event that drew dozens of teams and multiple hotel nights and argued that tournaments can supply steady local spending. To attract events, councilors and participants floated options such as waiving field rental fees for tournament operators while retaining concession rights, scheduling tournaments earlier so groups plan Hartsville dates, and packaging tournaments with local attractions like the water park.
Participants said the Recreation department needs more staff and field capacity to host larger regional events. Staff and council members named a recreation staffer (referred to in the meeting as Kendrick) as working to schedule tournaments and urged one another to meet with regional tournament directors to court events. One council member suggested offering hospitality incentives, discounted hotel codes or bundled water-park tickets to make Hartsville more competitive.
Next steps: council asked staff to include sign replacements and arts/parks initiatives in upcoming budget discussions, to produce cost estimates for additional welcome signs and to return with a plan for supporting expanded sports tournaments and required staffing.
