Escambia County wants to build indoor sports hall and upgrade Bay Center for $90 million
Escambia County officials and Pensacola Sports want to build an up-to-$60 million indoor sports facility and fund a $30 million upgrade to the Pensacola Bay Center with tourism tax dollars.
The Tourist Development Council was close to voting on recommending the proposal but held off after members said they wanted to see the complete feasibility study for the indoor sports facility that is proposed for Ashton Brosnaham Park.
The council voted unanimously to hold a special meeting focused on the proposal and another request to use $8.6 million to sink a 1,000-foot ship in the waters off Pensacola Beach to turn it into an artificial reef.
The county has proposed building an indoor sports facility at Ashton Brosnaham Park, located just north of 10 Mile Road, before and attempted to seek Hurricane Sally infrastructure funding last year for the idea, but Thursday's presentation of a feasibility study at the TDT Council meeting was the first public glimpse of the full proposal the county is considering.
No public backup material was posted on the public agenda for the TDT Council meeting, and council members only received a 12-slide presentation as supporting documentation before they were asked to recommend the county issue an up-to-$90 million bond for both projects.
The bond would require annual payments of up to $6 million annually for 30 years.
The Ashton Brosnaham Park proposal calls for a 100,000-square-foot building with 73,000 square feet of uninterrupted floor space that could host eight basketball courts or 16 volleyball courts at once or serve as an exhibition hall for other events.
The facility would also have 700 paved parking spaces.
The cost of the building is estimated to be between $48 million and $61 million.
A study commissioned by Pensacola Sports said the facility would have a $37 million impact on the local economy and generate $2.7 million in tax revenues each year, though it would have to operate on a subsidy from the county or TDT for its first several years.
Exactly how much of subsidy would be required isn’t known at this point until decisions are made about how the facility would be managed ? whether by the county or an event company ? and what fees would be required to use it.
The facility would aim to attract youth-sports tournaments for which Pensacola Sports has long advocated the Pensacola region is a prime location.
Escambia County Parks and Recreation Director Michael Rhodes said one key point of the project is that it would be open to the public for recreation use as well as organized tournaments and events.
Previous proposals have called for the facility to be in downtown Pensacola, but those proposals have never gotten off the ground.
While the council members only got 12 pages of a presentation, the full feasibility study ran 155 pages.
Council member Mitesh Patel, who represents the local hotel industry on the council, said he’s been getting text messages from other hotel owners who are worried the bond issue would lessen the funds available to promote Pensacola and bring in visitors.
“I know it's great for the community and all that, but at the end of the day, the folks that are actual tax collectors, if it's going to hurt our business, how much sense does that make?” Patel said. “And I think our duty, as this board, is to make sure that we focus on the proper use of these bed tax dollars. Not just, ‘Hey, is it good for the community?’ But ‘Hey, Is it going to continue to grow this bed tax dollar?’”
Patel said he didn’t feel he could move forward until he had read the full study.
The council ultimately agreed with Patel's request, but at one point, a motion made by council member Jim Reeves to approve recommending the full $90 million bond issue almost came to a vote. Reeves agreed to Patel’s substitute motion to hold a special meeting on the issue.
The proposal includes a $43 million plan to upgrade and modernize Pensacola Bay Center, approximately $30 million of which will come from the TDT bond issue.
Michael Capps, general manager of the Pensacola Bay Center with ASM Global, said the renovations would modernize the Bay Center and add seating capacity for concerts.
The upgrades would also modernize the infrastructure of the facility and the appearance of the building on the outside including adding LED light bars that could display messages or even video.
Capps said the upgrades are needed for the Bay Center to be able to attract events and shows to Pensacola.
“If we do nothing, we will get left behind,” Capps said.
Capps said the other funds for the upgrade would come from ASM Global renegotiating its management agreement with the Bay Center. Under a proposed agreement and upgrades, the company believes the Bay Center could operate at a $100,000 surplus instead of a $1.3 million subsidy.
TDT Council Chairman David Bear said he would schedule a special meeting to discuss the issue after the full study had been distributed.
If the TDT Council recommends the proposal, the final decision on whether to issue the bond and move forward with the two proposals will be made by the Escambia County Commission.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County wants $90 million for indoor sports hall and Bay Center
