SportsPlex off to strong start with first year results reported

The Cape Girardeau SportsPlex keeps churning out events and tournaments, and improving the competition, too.

As recently reported in B Magazine by Jon K. Rust, the SportsPlex closed out its first full fiscal year ahead of plan by $123,807, according to city data. The original budget called for the facility to lose $377,247 in year one, but actual loss came in at $253,440.

The venue attracted 34 events over 52 weekends; next year, the city hopes to increase that to 45 events over 37 weekends.

The project, designed to fill hotel rooms and draw out-of-town residents via sports tourism, is doing the job intended to do, and it will continue to increase. Local venues are enjoying the visitors and the dollars they bring to our city.

In a related story, sports editor Josh Mlot reported that volleyball coaches in the area credit the SportsPlex for bringing more and better talent to the area for tournaments.

In July, Cape Girardeau hosted the Rib City Shootout in the 121,000-square-foot indoor facility, which attracted 80 volleyball teams, twice as many as the year before with squads from Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas.

Cape Girardeau will also be able to host the SEMO Conference tournament in full, rather than the tournament having to be hosted at two different sites to accommodate the teams.

According to Mlot's story, the players love the SportsPlex. There's a reason it attracts teams from the St. Louis area, Illinois and Kentucky all the way to Cape.

It's a great place to play.

"It's also an awesome facility to play in," Notre Dame coach Meridith Brinkmeyer said. "My girls love playing there."

We've heard many similar reviews from coaches and parents since the opening of the facility. With praise like that we expect the Sportsplex will remain busy for years and years to come.