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Wait... you are saying they are planning to put the Aquatic Center on top of the parking garage? How would that be structually possible. The weight of the water alone would be incredible stress on that aging parking structure, please tell me i am reading that wrong.
Nope, that’s how it’s being described. Which of course is a complete change from their previous plans.
At this point it comes across as if they are throwing anything at the wall to see if it will stick.
Who owns the mall? The hotel/Sears property? The garages? Encova/BrickStreet? The adjacent Sears auto? I believe they may all be different. Then trying to get all these players on the same page. Also throw in the Municipal Auditorium as well since it’s right there too.
I think they are desperate for headlines and just want to make it look like they are doing something even if that something ends up being a poorly planned and executed debacle.
An olympic sized pool suspended over a parking garage is doable but still sounds like a bad idea.
At this point it comes across as if they are throwing anything at the wall to see if it will stick.
Who owns the mall? The hotel/Sears property? The garages? Encova/BrickStreet? The adjacent Sears auto? I believe they may all be different. Then trying to get all these players on the same page. Also throw in the Municipal Auditorium as well since it’s right there too.
I think they are desperate for headlines and just want to make it look like they are doing something even if that something ends up being a poorly planned and executed debacle.
An olympic sized pool suspended over a parking garage is doable but still sounds like a bad idea.
It's a shame that it's come to this. Imagine if one party (preferably not the city or county) owned the entirety of the CTC block and decided to redevelop it. They could have still included a sports complex, hotel, offices, etc... Too bad.
And yes, an Olympic sized pool over the garage sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
A draft feasibility study of the proposed Capital Sports Center was presented Tuesday at a Capital Sports Center Development Association meeting at Charleston City Hall.
The document is an executive summary of a report by consultants with Sports Facilities Companies (SFC), showing how much money the facility could make in the first five years.
The draft will be available at Kanawha.us, and the public can submit comments to info@kanawha.us until June 30.
SFC defined success for the facility in three ways:
Becoming a hub for sports that attracts non-local visitors to the city and drives economic impact
Limiting ongoing subsidy requirements
Developing a facility and model that provides opportunities for Charleston residents
There were eight factors listed for the Sports Facilities Advisory for its forecasting process. Those factors included:
> Population by drive time
> Age segmentation
> Participation by activity and age segment
> Competition factors
> Quality
> Diversification and differentiation of the new facility
> Capabilities and performance of management team
> Additional socio-economic factors and growth factors
SFC recommends the following to achieve this success:
> Eight basketball courts (could turn into 16 volleyball courts or six pickleball courts)
> Two additional pickleball courts
> A family entertainment center
> Food and beverage service
> A fitness center
> Group exercise rooms
> A walking track
> Spectator areas
These components will play a role in phase one of the Capital Sports Center, which will be built where the former Macy’s building once stood.
Money-making phase
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin mentioned that basketball, pickleball and volleyball are the “money-making sports.”
However, she wants the general public to take the opportunity to comment on what they want.
“It’s balancing public comment and input with what we can afford to build,” Goodwin said. “What’s going to make money? What’s going to be sustainable? So, balancing all those things together, based upon the input of the experts.”
Waiting on the pool
In the study, SFC recommends waiting to build an aquatic facility until after this first phase is complete.
The pool would produce $5 million to $10 million in direct spending, while the indoor court facility will eventually generate $20.8 million in direct spending.
“The recommended facility projected within this executive summary has the potential to achieve the Client definitions of success, while an indoor competition aquatics facility could achieve a more limited economic impact while requiring an ongoing operational subsidy,” the report states.
SFC also expects that building the aquatics facility will “exceed the current capital resources available for construction of new facilities.”
According to Goodwin, consultants have said two pools, one Olympic-sized and one warm-up pool, are needed for facilities like the proposed Capital Sports Center.
Steve White, chair of the Capital Sports Center Development Association, said his preference was to finish the first phase and then look into an appropriate place for an aquatics facility.
Initially, the Lee Street parking garage was to be the site for the pool. The garages are up for auction next month, and White has said the association has not considered bidding on them.
Financial forecast
The numbers for the financial forecast were projected on what the facility could generate revenue from. There were 15 different primary business units addressed in the executive summary.
Top earning units are projected to be basketball and volleyball tournaments, the family party area, the membership fitness area and food and beverage sales.
By the fifth year, total revenue is forecast to be $4.6 million.
Operating expenses
According to the report, a subsidy of approximately $736,000 will be needed in the first year of operations. That is before the facility can generate around $511,000 of gross margin minus operating expenses by the fifth year of the outlook.
Operating expenses will continue to increase in the first five years, from $2.1 million to $2.4 million.
Economic impact
The report also provides estimated economic impact figures. SFC estimates that overnight visitors created by the Sports Center will spend an average of $139.55 per person, per day in year one. By the fifth year, that number will increase to $148.11.
Most of this spending comes from lodging and dining.
SFC also expects that, at maturity, the Sports Center will generate 140,000 new days that non-local visitors will spend in the Charleston area, over 42,000 new room nights and around $20.8 million in economic impact.
Design of space
Design for the complex should be nearing completion by the end of the calendar year, said Adam Krason with ZMM Architects and Engineers, who is designing the facility.
Demolition is also ahead of schedule, according to White.
I see the financial end of it but they need to go down to Christiansburg, VA and look at the facility for competition swimming combined with an indoor swimming facility. It would be a great addition but may be too expensive. Charleston does need a nice place with good seating capacity for swimming events.
I see the financial end of it but they need to go down to Christiansburg, VA and look at the facility for competition swimming combined with an indoor swimming facility. It would be a great addition but may be too expensive. Charleston does need a nice place with good seating capacity for swimming events.
I think that not prioritizing the aquatic center is a huge mistake. Basketball and volleyball courts can be set up virtually anywhere. An Olympic sized pool and high dives with spectator seating cannot.
I agree that there needs to be a combined approach of competitive seating, and recreational areas. Especially for kids! If they can build that above the Lee St. garage, then that would be fine.
Well, another development regarding the aquatic center. Looks like they are looking into a different property all together now.
Quote:
Demolition of the Macy’s building site is ahead of schedule. Final renderings for the Capital Sports Center are being prepared by ZMM Architects and Engineers. They expect to have the plans completed by the end of the year. After that, engineering details need to be laid out.
It has been announced that the proposed aquatic center will now be a different phase. Initially the pool was slated to be in the Lee Street Parking Garage, but land acquisition turned out to be “incredibly challenging,” Salango said. Other properties in the area are being considered.
This is becoming rather disappointing quickly! The aquatic center is the only aspect of the original plans that would have been completely new to the area. Charleston already has courts/gyms/fitness centers/etc... It has needed an Olympic sized competition pool.
Other highlights from the article...
Quote:
The goal of the Capital Sports Center is not to make money, according to Ben Salango.
Instead, he’s simply aiming for the facility to break even.
To Salango, a Kanawha County commissioner and member of the Capital Sports Center Development Association, the true purpose of the facility is to help the city and county.
Ben Salango
Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango is shown, on April 22, 2024, inside the former Macy's department store at the Charleston Town Center mall.
“It will be non-profit, 100%,” Salango said. “We’re not there to try to make money. We’re there to try to generate enough revenue to pay for our operating expenses, so that, in turn, creates a significant economic impact for our business owners.”
Quote:
Comparison to Shawnee
Salango explained the proposed budget to the Gazette-Mail, comparing it to the current Shawnee Sports Complex budget.
Shawnee typically has expenses of about $1 million each year. The facility normally makes 85% to 90% of that in revenue. Hotel/motel tax helps cover the rest, in addition to a $150,000 subsidy given by the county commission each year — in part to cover operating costs and in part to keep costs low enough so that local teams can play.
Yet despite just breaking even most years, Shawnee has had an estimated economic impact of $130 million, according to 2023 figures from the Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
From 2019 to 2023, around 53,564 athletes and 134,910 attendees came to Shawnee. Over 100,000 visitors came from out of town, and over 37,000 hotel rooms were sold.
Before Shawnee was constructed, Salango created a forecast of what the facility could cost and bring in — both through revenue and economic impact. Salango said he was within 10% of his projections on expenses and revenue. He underestimated the economic impact by $10 million while also underestimating costs.
Quote:
Economic impact
Salango said economic impact generated from the Capital Sports Center will also be higher than the impact generated from the Shawnee Sports Complex.
The Capital Sports Center could see $7.5 million in economic impact in Year 1, and $20.8 million by Year 5, according to the draft study. In the first five years, the economic impact could be a total $76,514,261.
The projected per-person daily spending is $139.55 in Year 1, increasing to $148.11 in Year 5. An estimated 15,699 hotel rooms will be sold in Year 1 and 42,366 in Year 5.
If they could put the aquatic center on the site that once was Sears Auto now owned by Poca Valley Bank then that would be good but I don’t have great expectations for any of this yet.
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