Progress made at Etowah County sports complex; fields should be ready this fall

Crews are back at work at the Etowah County Mega Sports Complex site in Rainbow City, with landscaping and work on six soccer fields under construction.

Mega Sports Complex Authority Chairman Ralph Burke said three fields are about two weeks away from putting down sod, and the other three are about a month away.

The facility has "the best concession kitchen in the county" Burke said, ready to stock and start serving, and the facility is set up to rent space to food trucks as well.

For current authority members, there are dual unofficial deadlines. They hope the complex can host a tournament in October, and by legislative act, a new authority will take over by then. It's not known if any current members will be reappointed to the board.

After conflict that included Sen. Andrew Jones and the Etowah County Tourism Board taking legal action to hold up a bond issue to provide the funding needed to allow work to continue at the complex, the board agreed to a restructure.

Previous coverage: Bill altering appointment process for Etowah County Mega Sports Complex Authority passes

Read this: Etowah Mega Sports Authority waiting for work to resume; play date still up in the air

Each member of the legislative delegation will now have an appointment to the authority, as will the governing body of the city of Rainbow City, the president of The Chamber of Gadsden & Etowah County, and the director of the Etowah County Tourism Board or his designee. Other than the tourism director, those making an appointment can't be the appointee. Because no one will take office in District 29 until after the general election, the tourism director will make that appointment this year.

Burke, and members Randy Vice and Craig Ford said the authority wants to get this phase of the sports complex as near completion as possible to turn it over to the new board, in hopes that they will "take it and run with it."

If given a good run, these authority members believe, the combination of sports fields that will be available at this facility, combined with those available at the sports park in East Gadsden that the City of Gadsden and Gadsden State Community College are collaborating on could have a significant economic impact for Etowah County.

More sports than soccer could be played here, such as flag football.

Vice ran some numbers — he teaches economics at Southside High in addition to coaching soccer — regarding that potential, after consulting with Amy Whiteside, concession director at Sand Mountain Park, and Darren Spruill, athletic director for the City of Anniston.

With six fields available, Vice said the complex in Rainbow City can accommodate a 24-team round-robin tournament with championship rounds over two days. Based on the number of local travel teams, he said, he estimated 20 teams would be from outside the area, likely to spend two nights in hotels.

Vice estimated the following projected revenue for the facility:

Team fees: Average $500 per team, for $12,000 total

Gate fee: Average $10 per day or $15 pass, $5,280, with an average of 22 fans attending per team

Concessions: $7,000 (based on Sand Mountain Park's concessions for 14-team tourney)

Vice said he kept his numbers conservative and projected total direct revenue of $24,280

Expenses would include $7,000 for referees, $2,000 for concession and park wages, $300 for utilities, at $25 for LED lighting for two hours per field, and miscellaneous expenses of $500. The total projected expense was $9,800, giving a profit of $14,480, Vice estimated.

The indirect revenue generated could be more, Vice said. he calculated the following expenditures:

Food: Based on half the players and/or parents/fans spending $15 at a restaurant or fast food establishment per day

Lodging:12 hotel rooms per team for two nights at an average rate of $160

Fuel, ice, etc.

Vice got a total estimate of $52,610 indirect economic impact for a 24-team tournament.

If the park hosted younger players, games are played across the field, doubling the number of fields and the size tournament that could be accommodated, Vice said The cost for referees would increase, he explained, but many of the other expenses would be the same while revenue potentially would be doubled.

If fields at both the Rainbow City complex and the Gadsden State complex are available for a tournament, 36-team tournaments could be hosted for full-size field play, and the potential revenue would be increased.

Ford said he hopes that is what will come when both facilities are ready to kick off play. The indirect revenue will be spread throughout the area around the county sports complex, he said.

"Attalla has Walmart and Gadsden has the hotels," he said. Dining can be found in those cities and in Rainbow City.

Burke said the lodging tax revenues that partially fund the facility have been on the increase — from checks of $8,500 to $9,000 to about $13,000 and $11,000 in the last couple of months. Increases in hotel rates might account for some of it, but authority members take it as a sign that people are ready to get out and travel.

Clearly, the project has progressed at the pace authority members had hoped. They envisioned fields to host a variety of sports, and that can still happen. The facility can host events, Ford said, and performances.

Read more from Donna Thornton: Etowah investigators charge Georgia man with child porn, other charges involving juveniles

In other news: Field trip for adults: Southside library takes patrons to movie adaptation of popular book

Authority members have expressed frustration over the years, watching as facilities like Albertville's Sand Mountain Park and Amphitheater was constructed. It was built, Ford noted, with strong backing from the city from the start, and with the collection of a dedicated sales tax revenue.

The City of Rainbow City has been the biggest partner in this project, buying the property from and leasing it back to the authority, and constructing a new roadway by the complex.

Vice, who also serves on the Rainbow City Council, said the sports complex is a component of the city's recently revealed master plan.

Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Etowah County sports complex: Fields should be ready in October