Sports complex idea has been around 30 years
Jul. 16—Back in 1974, Peter Allen sang "Everything Old Is New Again."
And the indoor sports complex the city is talking about certainly fits that description.
What they're talking about is an 88,000-square-foot facility, with five to six large courts for indoor sports and a large field area with synthetic turf, party rooms, concessions and administrative offices.
Such a facility, they say, would cost $16 million to $17 million to build and would have an annual maintenance cost of $307,000, he said.
Of course, these days with inflation running wild and supply chain issues, better count on more than that.
The idea is to bring more sports tournaments to town and create more tourism business.
They're predicting that such a facility would generate about
$1.3 million a year in hotel room rentals and $3.1 million annually in other sales, if the facility was booked for tournaments 50% of weekends.
It's a good idea — if we can afford it.
But the idea has been around for more than 30 years — and never seems to get done.
In 1990, then-Mayor Dave Adkisson proposed a natatorium — swimming pool — to be built beside a renovated Sportscenter.
The price tag would have been about $3 million to $4 million just for the pool.
In 2001, the community began a similar study.
Ideas then included a $9.75-million recreation complex featuring a walking track, indoor soccer and an ice skating rink that could be converted to in-line skating during the spring and summer; a $5 million family water park with slides and moving water, and an outdoor soccer complex with at least 10 fields.
In 2003, 45 Owensboro leaders toured three recreation complexes in the St. Louis area for ideas for a "rec-plex" here.
A study was commissioned, but nothing ever happened — largely because the cost had risen to $18 million to $20 million.
The $6 million Edge Ice Center was built, however, as a result of that effort.
Eventually, the rec-plex idea was dropped when planning for the Owensboro Convention Center began.
Last year, the city, county and Owensboro Health announced that they would put up a combined $600,000 to create an indoor sports facility inside the convention center, making it available for basketball, volleyball and futsal tournaments.
That move is already attracting tournaments to the city.
The point of this is that we've talked about a major indoor sports complex for three decades.
If we're going to do it, let's do it.
If we're not, let's don't keep talking about it.
Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301 klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com
