The Paul Eames Sports Complex could soon see some renovations after Albany city commissioners approved a proposal to study the cost of renovating the facility.

Investing money into the complex that sits off the bypass isn't a new concept but city officials believe this time it's different.

“There is a history of funding being put in the park and really not getting our return on investment but I believe this proposal was brought to us by elite athletics is very exciting, its focused on bringing in tournaments into the city,” said Sharon Subadan, Albany City Manager. “This model allows us to engage in a multi sector partnership, a collaborative partnership which is what I think works best,” she added.

Director for Team Elite South said the complex which has 3 professional size fields on site is a huge benefit.

“There’s a lot of partnership programs that are on national brands recognized in that industry that we would want to bring to Albany Georgia and host events under the names of USA baseball, perfect game, (and others),” said Hayes Cook, Director for Team Elite South.

Renovation of the complex could also benefit the city's bottom line.

“Taking one tournament, one group from each age group, you're looking at 1.86 million dollar economic impact just on 8 tournaments and that's a minimal of what we can host here. So you're looking to get a return on investment almost immediately,” said Rashelle Beasley, Director for Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau.

One commissioner suggested a new location for an attraction like the sports complex.

“We need as much boost as we can for downtown as we possibly can so I just want to make sure we've looked at; we've exhausted every opportunity to do it there as opposed to spreading people out further,” said Bob Langstaff, City Commissioner for Ward 5.

“The reason why I feel like Paul Eames Sports Complex is in the right location is because, you're not really looking at the location of where it sits within Albany. What you're looking at is the location of where Albany sits within the southeastern part of the United States,” Cook said. “That type of facility will attract national level events anything from high school state championships to regional or conference championships to collegiate level,” he added.

We asked city manager Sharon Subadan since a lot of public dollars will be spent on the project, where does private dollar come in.

"That would be where they would bring expertise, they would bring tournaments here and bring those private dollars with it,” Subadan said.

Officials said baseball tournaments could be held at the complex between February and July.

 

Source : wfxl.com

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