City prepares to cover initial costs of SportsPlex

As construction continues on the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex, the city council has set aside nearly $400,000 for initial operating costs for the indoor sports facility.

Parks and Recreation director Julia Thompson said the city plans to hire a facility supervisor to operate the sports complex. The job is being advertised. Thompson hopes to have that position filled by October.

The operating budget includes more than $175,000 in estimated personnel costs, city finance director John Richbourg said.

Thompson said the facility also would be staffed with a recreation coordinator, administrative secretary and several maintenance workers. Several part-time employees would be hired to work at the SportsPlex, she added.

Labor costs also include the hiring of referees for volleyball, basketball and soccer games that would be played in the facility, Thompson said.

Construction progress is seen Friday on the new indoor sports complex near Interstate 55 and U.S. 61.Fred Lynch

"We will need a lot of officials," she said.

The sports complex will house two indoor soccer fields, six regulation basketball courts that can be converted into 12 volleyball courts, concession stands and concession-associated kitchen facilities. Volleyball stands and other equipment needed for the various sports will be stored above the courts and will lower automatically when needed, she said.

"We will have the largest wooden-court facility probably within a two-hour drive," Thompson said.

In addition to personnel costs at the SportsPlex, the city's initial operating costs include buying computers and other equipment not covered in the construction contract and marketing costs, Thompson said.

The city council recently approved a $20,000 contract with Concord Publishing House's rustmedia to develop a logo, branding, signage and electronic and print promotional materials. The work includes creating a website and marketing of the SportsPlex via social media.

"It is such a big thing. You can't live without it these days," Thompson said of the use of social media.

The Southeast Missourian newspaper and rustmedia both are owned by Rust Communications.

Cape Girardeau's Convention & Visitors Bureau will work to book tournaments to the facility. Thompson said she hopes the SportsPlex will be "wildly successful."

The ultimate goal is to attract more visitors to Cape Girardeau, particularly during the winter months when there are no outdoor sports tournaments.

"The purpose of this facility is really to help boost hotel stays," Thompson said.

Tournaments will draw more visitors which, in turn, will boost motel and restaurant tax revenue, she said.

She predicted the facility would be used afternoons, evenings and weekends.

Midamerica Hotels Corp. submitted the winning design-build proposal, partnering with Penzel Construction Co. on the $12 million project. The 121,000-square-foot sports complex is taking shape on a 10-acre site donated by Midamerica Hotels. The site is on the northeast corner of Interstate 55 and U.S. 61. The city broke ground on the project in December.

Construction of the facility is about 50 percent complete, she estimated. The building is expected to be finished by February.

Thompson said city officials hope to generate enough revenue through sports tournaments and league play to eventually cover operating costs. But she and Richbourg, the city's finance director, said revenue will be limited until the facility is up and running.

In the beginning, Richbourg said, "we won't have any revenue at all."

The parks and recreation department, which will operate the new sports complex, estimates revenue for this partial fiscal year could total more than $229,000 that would include money from tournaments, sports leagues, concession stands and sponsorships.

But the city has set aside $1.65 million in restaurant tax money to subsidize operations for the first five years. Richbourg said he hopes the total subsidy will prove to be less than projected.

Thompson, however, said it likely will take several years for the facility to be fully booked with tournaments, leagues and other activities such as sports clinics and camps.

"A lot of the bigger tournaments book several years in advance," she added.

But Thompson has no doubts the SportsPlex will draw a crowd.

"This is going to be a premier sporting facility," she said. "I think it will be very popular year-round."

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

583 Limbaugh Lane, Cape Girardeau, Mo.