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Daytona Beach could be getting a $185 million sports complex and stadium in a few years

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Daytona Beach could be getting a 5 million sports complex and stadium in a few years

DAYTONA BEACH — City commissioners have a $185 million decision to make, a decision that could be as impactful to Daytona Beach as the construction of Daytona International Speedway 65 years ago.

A Clearwater-based company that develops and operates sports, event and entertainment facilities in more than a dozen states crunched a lot of numbers for Daytona Beach and came up with a general concept for a sprawling $185 million sports complex on the city’s western edge.

The proposal they put together at the city’s request and presented at Wednesday night’s City Commission meeting includes both a 10,000-seat stadium and a sports complex with dozens of multi-use fields, courts for various sports, baseball diamonds, a pool, ice rink, locker rooms and concession facilities.

It could all happen on 600 acres the city owns west of Interstate 95 off of International Speedway Boulevard.

“It’s a beautiful idea, but it’s an idea that will not come to fruition without a multitude of investors,” said Mayor Derrick Henry. “It’s a great idea to expand the local brand.”

Since city staff is still trying to determine if the idea is feasible and who its partners could be, there is no estimated timeline for construction.

If the facility does come to be, the hope is Daytona Beach would become home to more than 100 sports tournaments each year – everything from basketball to gymnastics to baseball. Concerts could even be held on the property.

Sports tourism is worth about $52 billion in the United States each year, and Daytona Beach is hoping to grab a piece of that. Included in that $52 billion is what visitors spend on transportation, lodging, food and beverages, recreation, retail purchases and tournament participation.

A closer look at the numbers

Daytona Beach and the partners it would work with could make the complex as big, expensive and elaborate as they chose. The proposal put together by The Sports Facilities Companies just provides a vision of how grandiose of a sports hub the city could create.

The 35-page proposal shows there are about 2.3 million people within a one-hour drive of Daytona Beach, and 5.1 million people within a 90-minute drive of Daytona – a large potential pool of users for the facility.

Each visitor could spend about $150 per day on lodging, food, entertainment, retail items and travel. That could add up to a $54 million economic impact in the first year of operations, and a $96.5 million impact by the fifth year.

The facility could also generate between $1 million and $2 million in new sales and hotel taxes each year.

The proposal estimates annual revenue at the complex could reach $4.6 million in the first year, and $7.5 million by the fifth year. Total operating expenses are shown at $4 million in the first year, and $4.7 million in the fifth year.

The big questions of where the money would come from for construction and operations have yet to be answered, but city officials say they don’t envision taxpayers picking up the bills alone.

The Sports Facilities Companies has suggested that a professional operator run the complex, not the city.

Another question is the suitability of some of the city property, which has swampy areas and possibly wetlands. First Step Shelter is located on the city’s 600-acre property, and some work had to be done during construction to accommodate for the wet nature of the land there.

The city could consider partnering with other existing facilities, such as Pictona in Holly Hill and the Ormond Beach Sports Complex, to become a big tournament draw.

City officials have already been talking to the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach Pop Warner, Bethune-Cookman University, and local residents.

High schools could also become partners and paying customers of the facility.

“Groups have said, ‘if you build this in two years, we’ll bring our tournaments to you for five or six years,’ ” said City Manager Deric Feacher. “We want to find partners to make this a tourist destination.”

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

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