An athlete's dream: Daytona Beach considering multi-sport complex on city land
DAYTONA BEACH — For decades, 600 acres of vacant city-owned land west of Interstate 95 deemed too swampy to develop sat idle.
Then in 2017, city officials decided about 10 acres of the property just off of west International Speedway Boulevard could be used for a homeless shelter. In late 2018, city officials struck a deal that's been allowing P&S Paving to harvest dirt on the land and sending millions of dollars to City Hall.
Now city leaders are contemplating another use for the large piece of remote property: A sports complex.
The idea is in very early stages, but there's a vision of creating multiuse fields for soccer, football, baseball and softball. Large retention ponds P&S Paving is sculpting as it collects dirt could be used for water skiing and wakeboarding competitions.
There could also be a track, horseback riding trails and an on-site hotel or two.
Nothing has been decided about what would be built. But the ultimate goal is to create a sports hub that would pull in athletes from other cities and states for training and tournaments, and begin a sports tourism industry in Daytona Beach.
"We're in the process of trying to be a sports destination," said City Manager Deric Feacher. "I'm looking at how we could draw people for economic impact, people who could eat in our restaurants and stay in our hotels."
City commissioners have agreed to explore the idea, and at their meeting Wednesday night they voted unanimously to hire Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC, to conduct a feasibility study and draw up a master plan for the sprawling site.
The city will pay the Clearwater-based company $172,000 for its work, which should be wrapped up by late August.
Detailed analysis in the works for Daytona sports complex
The new 21-page agreement between the city and Sports Facilities Advisory lays out what the company will be doing over the course of the next five months and when.
The company's 23-step plan includes: a market analysis, facility gaps analysis, site conditions analysis, project website, site visit, market tour and facilities tour. There will also be stakeholder and user group meetings, a community vision open house, community survey, conceptual site plan and building design, a detailed financial forecast with a pro forma, economic impact projections and a feasibility report that will summarize everything.
All of those steps would help determine which sports would get fields and other new development on the site.
It hasn't been determined yet what the sports complex would cost, and what the revenue source or sources would be. At Wednesday night's meeting, city leaders discussed other local governments that might want to use the complex possibly contributing to construction and ongoing operations expenses.
Mayor Derrick Henry said the city can't afford to pay for the complex without the help of other agencies and grants.
Local residents would most likely be able to use the facility when tournaments weren't underway, but user fees might be charged.
The pro-forma for the facility will include a five-year cashflow forecast, and a 20-year financial outlook.
The study will analyze the likely spending of out-of-town visitors to the complex and the city, calculating the impact the sports tourism events would have on local lodging, dining, retail, entertainment, transportation and tax bases.
City officials haven't determined yet if they would operate the facility with city employees, or if they would hire a private company.
Daytona could become a sports destination in 10-20 years
Feacher said Wednesday night that it could take as long as 10-20 years to build everything on the undeveloped land.
If the sports complex does get built, it could provide much-needed facilities for local high schools and colleges, he said. The city-owned Municipal Stadium has received some upgrades, but large events there have caused traffic jams when people try to drive in and out.
The property targeted for the sports complex is away from neighborhoods, and it has easy access to both Interstate 95 and Interstate 4, Feacher said.
Municipal Stadium has also had some minor flooding problems in years past, something that would be a concern on the 600-acre site off of International Speedway Boulevard about 5 miles west of I-95.
Jeff Brown, the city's Economic and Strategic Opportunities director, said there's been a wetlands designation on some of the land. Only about 100-150 acres in the middle of the property is usable, Brown said.
P&S Paving is still in the first of two phases of removing dirt on the southern side of the land. And on the northern side of the land First Step Shelter is a well-established refuge for homeless adults that can house up to 100 people inside every day and dozens more in the outdoor "safe zone."
But the sports complex could co-exist with both of those neighbors on the large site, Feacher said.
'A phenomenal economic impact'
City Commissioner Dannette Henry sees an opportunity to give a large number of local families with kids a top-notch place to compete in sports.
The mayor sees the potential to build an economic engine fueled by tourists from across Florida.
"We don't have anything like this in Volusia County," he said. "It could have a phenomenal economic impact. That's really what it's about."
He said the complex could draw 3,000 to 5,000 people per weekend, and 100,000 to 300,000 per year.
More about Daytona's 600-acre site: Daytona homeless shelter $2 million dirt deal upsets competitor
City Commissioner Quanita May said she thinks it's "a fantastic concept," although she shared some concerns about maintenance long-term.
Henry said the complex could help brand Daytona Beach as "the best in class" and increase the number of tourists who visit the city every year.
"To be more than Bike Week and the World's Most Famous Beach," said City Commissioner Paula Reed, "we need to do more."
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach studying idea to create a sports complex on city land
