Area sports council pushes for sports tourism facility

Ed Devero and Travis Stephens have turned up the dial on a plan they have pushed for years that would see the construction of a sports complex they say could create an annual economic impact of more than $15 million.

Devero and Stephens, who are the president and first vice president, respectively, of the Greater Fort Smith Sports Council (GFSSC), recently sent an e-mail blast to encourage friends and supporters of a regional sports and activity park to contact members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors. The message?: Officials with the city of Fort Smith and Sebastian County need to work together and build a large — up to $25 million — indoor/outdoor activity park at Ben Geren Park.

Devero estimates the recent e-mail campaign has reached more than 3,500 in the area.

MEETING OF THE MINDS
The Fort Smith Board of Directors and Sebastian County Quorum Court meet tonight (Sept. 29) to discuss how they might better work together with respect to the county park. Fort Smith City Administrator Dennis Kelly recently proposed a plan that could potentially generate $27.54 million in the first five years from a 3% tax on prepared foods. The proceeds would fund operation and maintenance of the Fort Smith Convention Center and an expanded tourism program that would include riverfront development and sports facilities.

Sebastian County also is in the midst of an effort to review the addition of new facilities — including an aquatic park — at Ben Geren. With more than 1,300 acres, Ben Geren Regional Park is the largest in Arkansas, according to the Sebastian County Parks Department.

Fort Smith and Sebastian County officials met March 16 to begin talks about “a better way to meet the recreation needs of people in our region,” Ray Gosack, Fort Smith’s deputy city administrator, said in March. County Judge David Hudson said in March he was supportive of collaboration between the two governments.

City Director Kevin Settle said Tuesday he has heard from many citizens in the past few days who are supportive of a sports venue like that proposed by the GFSSC. Settle also said he hopes the city and county can find a way to work together.

“I am all for it,” Settle said of working with the county to maximize the use of Ben Geren. “Ben Geren is probably the best spot for a regional sports venue.”

Not only is Ben Geren more convenient in terms of access for users and proximity to hotels and restaurants, it will some day be in the middle of Interstates 540 and 49, Settle noted.

“We could have a large park next to a major north-south interstate. I think that would be a good thing,” Settle said.

THE GFSSC PLAN
The GFSSC plan, of which Devero and Stephens have lobbied city and county elected officials, is a “conceptual plan” that envisions an up to $25 million facility that could be built in stages within 10 years. Financing for the facility and park could come from several options, including the proposed addition of a Fort Smith prepared food tax, Devero explained. Once open, a facility also would generate revenue to help pay for operations and maintenance.

“This is about a gradual, sustained growth of sports tourism facilities,” Devero said. “You have to remember that this is conceptual. The point is that we developed a concept, and we’ve said to city and county leaders, ‘This is a plan and here are the good things that could come from this … let’s work together and come up with a 5 or 10 year plan and move forward.’”

An 11-page summary plan prepared by the GFSSC includes the creation and expansion of 17 outdoor sports venues, including a water park, softball fields, mountain biking and tennis facilities.

Other plan considerations include:
• Creation of an operating authority, similar to the airport and port commissions, to oversee the operation of the new park facilities;
• Use the influence and connections of at least 25 area sports groups to lobby for public support of an expanded park; and
• Indoor uses of the proposed facility would include business conferences, flag football area, swimming and club and activity meetings.

To develop an economic impact study, Devero and Stephens attended several sports tourism conferences, worked with area architects and studied several existing regional sports facilities. According to their plan, which uses a conservative impact multiplier of 1.3, the potential annual economic impact of a fully developed regional sports and activity park would be $15.3 million. Added to the roughly $4.9 million the region now captures in economic impact from sports tourism, the total impact could reach more than $20 million each year.

The $20 million would be equal to the payroll impact of a new company, paying an average annual salary of $50,000, employing 400.

“And you wouldn’t worry each year about the sports park outsourcing to Mexico or overseas,” Devero said. “We’ve received very positive feedback from those (e-mails). I think more people understand the sports tourism business and what it can mean from a economic impact perspective. … The community would get back far more than it would invest.”

GFSSC STATEMENT
Also, Devero, on behalf of the GFSSC, issued this statement to The City Wire:

Jobs are the number one priority in Fort Smith. With the economic downturn still hovering over us the people of Fort Smith have an opportunity to control our own destiny. The construction of a Sports and Activity Park would create immediate jobs that are not at the mercy of a corporate office, mergers or downsizing. Some of the jobs are easy to identify like the hotel and restaurant industry. Others like design, construction, building materials, marketing and advertising and many more will put money in the hands of many who will in turn reinvest in to our community.

In terms of economic impact this will be the equivalent of bringing in a major industry.  The question that the people of Fort Smith need to ask themselves is, do we want to invest in ourselves and bring millions of dollars of new money into our economic base or do we choose to let those dollars go to another community. The regional sports travel industry seems to be weathering this economic downturn quite well. Out of all of the events being held in the last year the number of players, teams and participants is holding steady and in most cases growing. From a business and investment standpoint this project is a home run.

Recruiting and maintaining medical professionals is also at the top of the list. By offering tournament level facilities for our children and their parents to use this will add yet another fantastic reason for Doctors, Nurses and medical related folks to call Fort Smith home.

The Fort Smith Sports Council wants to put an emphasis on long term sustainable growth in Sports Tourism. Not only do we need to fund capital projects such as new and improved fields, courts and playing venues, we need to have funds to sustain, maintain and continually improve. Our concept is to create an operating authority much like that of the Airport Commission that can represent the people of Fort Smith by prioritizing and managing the Sports and Activity Park for the long term. Give this responsibility to this organization of citizens so that their primary focus is the park.

Most of the folks including myself can not tell you how much the Phoenix East road extension cost. At the same time they can tell you all of the businesses that have developed by name, how much more safe and convenient their drive is from home and back and that they take great pride when they have and out of town guest that says Fort Smith has wonderful streets and is a very nice city. The Sports and Activity Park will be a place of pride and prosperity. It will be one of the stops that you will want to show guest.

We seem to have our infrastructure in check with the streets, sewer and water improvements over the past few years. Now is the time! Now is the time to be a forward looking community and create a place where many generations from now people will look back and say I am so glad that the people of Fort Smith choose to build that Sports Park. Look at how it has served so many for all of these years!