City Moves Forward on Sports Complex

With a study in hand showing Elk Grove’s economy could grow by $8.3 million if the city builds a tournament-quality youth sports complex, city council members told staff Wednesday to draft a request for proposals on the project.

Council members hope a fancy new sports venue would attract regional and even national tournaments to Elk Grove, boosting the local hotel and retail sectors and the city’s profile.

“It’s one more marketing tool for the city of Elk Grove,” Mayor Steven Detrick said in an interview.

The idea, , involves spending an estimated $12 million to install baseball diamonds and soccer fields, along with batting cages and a restaurant, on the site of the new the city is building on Elk Grove Blvd between Big Horn Blvd and Laguna Springs Drive. Local teams could use the fields when they're not booked for tournaments.

An aquatic center, which Elk Grove swimmers have been lobbying hard for, could also be part of the mix.

The Center for Strategic Economic Research, a consultant hired by the city, estimated building the complex would create 53 new permanent jobs, with another 59 generated indirectly by visitors spending money in town.

Click on the attached PDF file to view the study results.

A major unanswered question is who would operate the complex—a private company, or the Cosumnes Community Services District, which currently earns about $100,000 per year renting field space to local softball leagues. Once the city issues a request for proposals, anyone could apply.

At least two companies have expressed interest in the project: San Diego-based SportsPlex USA and Big League Dreams, another Southern California outfit that builds scaled-down replicas of Major League ballparks.

Big League Dreams currently has an agreement with the city of Folsom giving it first dibs on opening one of the company’s facilities in the region. But Big League Dreams founder Rick Odekirk told Elk Grove Patch this week the Folsom project faces some hurdles and the company will decide in the next few months whether to go forward with it.

On Wednesday, some council members seemed leery of hiring a private contractor to run the venue.

“I’m still a little bit cautious about the city dedicating the land [for the Civic Center], making $20 million in improvements and a private concessioneer reaping the profits,” said Councilmember Patrick Hume.

But it was Councilmember Sophia Scherman who asked the (multi-)million-dollar question: “How long would it take to turn a profit?”

About 42 years, said city economic development coordinator Heather Ross. Ross said that estimate includes only sales tax revenue and the city could make back its investment quicker if the deal also includes rental income from an outside contractor.

City officials said that in sports-crazy Elk Grove, the money’s only part of the point.

“This is not a huge money-maker but it’s a nice amenity for the community,” said City Manager Laura Gill.

Council members were also motivated by the desire to beat other cities in the Sacramento area to the punch.

“There’s a lot of cities looking at trying to put one of these things together and the first one that does it will be the winner,” said Councilmember Gary Davis.