Macomb city officials took questions and comments from residents during an open house-style public forum about the proposed sports and entertainment complex.
Representatives from Sports Facilities Companies and Integra Realty Resources were also present. The former found such a project would be feasible for Macomb and is working with city officials as they contemplate the idea. The city has hired the latter to develop a funding plan, which is estimated to cost between $52.7 million and $64.1 million.
Sterling Kernek of Macomb called the forum a good informational meeting where his questions were answered.
“At the end of those answers I got, I was feeling a little queasy about this plan,” Kernek said. “It’s risky. This is a risky proposition.”
Kernek said he usually supports economic development proposals, but he said the complex will be quite expensive and it’s not known if the projected economic benefits will materialize.
The city has said it will not increase property taxes to pay for it.
The facility is considered a sports tourism project. The idea is to draw youth teams and people from outside the community to compete in tournaments, generating economic activity. The complex could host basketball and volleyball along with other events such as gymnastics meets, trade shows, and concerts.
Kernek said Macomb would benefit from economic development, so he understands why the city is considering the project.
“I see where they’re coming from. They want to juice up the economy here and investing is one way to do it. I just think this is kind of a risky investment,” he said.
Kernek said a lot has to come together for the project to work. He also said Macomb already has plenty of facilities around town that could be used for tournaments, including two gyms at the high school, one each at the middle school and Edison school, one at the YMCA, and the Washington Street gym.
Like Kernek, John Lane of Macomb feels it’s a risky plan.
“I think it’s the equivalent to walking up to a roulette table with a whole bunch of borrowed money and putting it all on one number,” Lane said.
He would rather see smaller investments in a variety of projects that he said would pay dividends for the city.
“I think 1% of the project budget put into bike lanes would benefit our community much more,” Lane said. “It’s just a lot of money and it’s speculative.”
He also questioned whether the community has the hotels, restaurants, and other facilities to make the plan feasible. He thinks it’s not a good fit for Macomb.
“It’s being served to us on a silver platter by a company that’s in the business of doing this, and usually those sorts of opportunities that are teed up for you so neatly don’t really make you money. They make money for the person who’s handing it to you on a silver platter,” Lane said.
Gary Smallshaw, Strategic Adviser with Sports Facilities Companies, said Macomb is at the start of a fairly lengthy process. He said they will spend the next several months working through the financial strategy and how the complex would be built.
“It’s going to take a lot of conversations. We’re inviting people to the conversation. We want open dialogue about what they’re looking for, any input that they have,” Smallshaw said.
He said this is nothing new for the company. It manages 93 complexes across the country.
“We understand sports tourism. We understand how it works,” he said, adding the facility is expected to draw new restaurants, hotels, and retailers to the community. “The complex is the catalyst and the anchor for all of those other things that are going to happen.”
Smallshaw said he’s seen sports complexes built in smaller communities, such as Mattoon in eastern Illinois.
“There’s a lot of work to putting this in place, a lot of math. But I’ve seen it done multiple times and to very good effect in smaller communities,” Smallshaw said.
Several weeks ago, Mayor Mike Inman told TSPR that city officials are doing their due diligence on the project. They’ve been working on it for the past year and a half, and he called it a complicated process.
Inman said the city has not put “all of our eggs in one basket” in terms of economic development possibilities, but the proposed sports complex is the project city leaders are “laser-focused on” right now.
A site for the complex has not been announced.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
