Pensacola Sports CEO Ray Palmer shared the location of the proposed indoor sports facility is going back to the “drawing board on location.”
“One of the most important components for me and the encouragement that I have is that I think we saw from the tourist development community was general support for an indoor venue and the need for it,” Palmer said on the podcast. “We’ve proven over 15 years of study and talks and consultants that it is something our community needs.”
While the initiative may be shifting to reassess location options and design considerations, the fundamental need remains clear – how to pay for the facility.
“We’ve got to find some other money. We have needs that are beyond what one bucket of money can do,” he said. “I think we have a community need for an indoor venue, and as long as we only are using the tourism bucket of money, we’re never going to be able to fill the need. We’re still going to have teams that are having to travel to Foley and other places to practice and hold their tournaments if we don’t have an indoor venue.”
Palmer added, “We’re going to have to look at filling that local community need and being okay with it being used for our locals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. If we build a conference center that has conference/conventions and it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then it’s a sports tourism or another tourism on Friday, Saturday, Sunday component. Making it strictly tourism doesn’t solve your local athletic component needs for your volleyball, basketball, map, sports, other opportunities.”
To address this funding gap, he believes community leaders need to explore various options, including grant opportunities, tourism development initiatives, and special taxing districts.
“These special taxing districts have become increasingly popular nationwide as a funding mechanism for similar projects, primarily because they operate independently of political control and can be specifically designated for these purposes,” Palmer said. “Whether through these districts, general funds, or other funding sources, we’ll need to combine multiple revenue streams to achieve the full scope of what our community requires.”
