A vote looms for the Escambia County Tourism Development Council (TDC) with $90 million worth of ramifications.
- Future prospects for a new indoor sports facility at Ashton Brosnaham Park and significant upgrades to the Pensacola Bay Center depend first on the council recommending the county issue a $90-million bond from the tourism development tax collection. If the council approves the proposal, the Board of County Commission will determine if the bond is issued.
When TDC will vote remains to be determined, but Inweekly learned that the council will hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, in the Board of County Commission chambers to discuss the proposal.
The TDC nearly voted on the proposal at its meeting last week. Council member Jim Reeves made the motion to recommend the proposal but later withdrew after Mitesh Patel made a substitute motion to hold a special meeting to discuss the proposal.
- Those pushing for the proposal include a powerful alliance of County Commission Chair Steven Barry, Escambia County Parks and Recreation Director Michael Rhodes, Pensacola Sports President and CEO Ray Palmer, and Bay Center General Manager Michael Capps. Those who oppose the proposal include the equally formidable hoteliers.
Details: The proposed indoor sports facility calls for about $60 million to be invested into a 100,000-sq.-ft. structure with eight basketball courts or 16 volleyball courts and 700 paved parking spaces.
- Ashton Brosnaham Park is located in the northern outskirts of the county and that is an issue for those who oppose the proposal. Another issue in their minds is that the facility will only generate revenue on weekends when hosting AAU basketball and volleyball tournaments.
The Facility Debate
“That limited usage is not accretive to future TDT collections, which means the loss of millions of dollars in local option sales tax for our community,” Innisfree Hotels President and CEO Ted Ent said. “We believe that an indoor sports facility should be designed to be multi-purpose to also accommodate mid-size meetings and conventions and be centrally located to our community’s amenities.”
Barry counters that the location is ripe for growth. He recalls similar concerns decades ago that blocked the Toronto Blue Jays from establishing a Double-A baseball team at John R. Jones Park on Nine Mile Road.
“For whatever reason, the leadership in the County thought that was too far north and that nothing would work on Nine Mile Road,” Barry said. “It’s easy to look back on those things and see how they might’ve been a mistake. It’s worth just remembering the past so that we don’t make the same mistake.”
Lucrative Sports Market
Brosnaham Park is already a proven commodity. The park hosts the SEC soccer tournaments and already attracts hundreds of athletes through outdoor youth leagues. Palmer said providing athletes access to a state-of-the-art facility at the complex should only enhance the outdoor products.
“We have identified a piece of property that is absolutely perfect,” Palmer said. “We have 14 acres at the Braham facility, which is already zoned. It is flat, it’s clean, it’s zoned for recreation uses and the county already owns it.”
Travel sports is a lucrative business. In 2023, direct spending on sports-related travel topped $52 billion nationwide, resulting in over $128 billion in economic impact. Sports traveler volume increased by 7% and spending by sports travelers increased 11% year-over-year.
Lodging accounted for over $10.5 million in economic impact. Over 60% of the markets reported sports as the leading generator of room nights. An estimated 54% of all sports travelers spent the night in the event destination, generating over 73 million room nights in 2023.
Sports Events & Tourism Association President and CEO John David described Pensacola as a tourist attraction with its beaches, museums and downtown vibrancy. He said all of those tourist attractions lend themselves to winning bids for AAU basketball and volleyball tournaments and other sporting events.
Escambia County Public Schools and local youth sports leagues stand to benefit from access to the facility. Barry, Palmer and Rhodes each said the facility would be open on the weekdays and would partner with the school district and youth leagues to host programs.
“Hopefully, the weekends will be full of out-of-towners here, playing ball,” Barry said. “But Monday through Thursday, there’s a lot of opportunities for local youth to utilize the facility and take advantage of it, and with such proximity to a number of schools, I think it’s in the perfect spot.”
Bay Center Upgrades
The proposed upgrades for the Bay Center project to cost $30 million in tourism development tax collections and $43 million overall. The upgrades include adding seating capacity and luxury suites and would position the Bay Center to attract better events and remain the host site of the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournaments.
Patel is intricately involved in the process. He owns hotels across the county, he represents the hotel industry on the council and serves as a Pensacola Sports board member. Patel questioned spending $43 million on upgrades to the Bay Center. He recommended hiring an outside agency to conduct a physical study on the Bay Center rather than let ASM Global dictate the upgrades.
“You put $43-million lipstick on a 40-year-old pig and she’s still a 40-year-old pig,” Patel said.
The Bay Center proposed upgrades include $10-12 million for luxury suites. Capps estimated the suites could generate $200,000 in annual revenue. Patel said that is not enough to warrant the investment.
“If you ask any business person if they would spend $12 million to make $200,000 a year, no one’s going to do that,” Patel said. “It’s not smart business.”
It seems to me that Commissioner Barry is pushing this Community Center and trying to rush it in without making sure it’s the best use for the 5th cent.
Study from 7 years ago did not even ping 10 mile road as one of the top 5 locations, but now all of a sudden it’s the best location.