Seminole County leaders Tuesday broke ground on a new $27 million mega-sports complex that supporters say will draw top-level amateur tournaments and bring in thousands of visitors from across the country into the county.

The planned 102-acre complex off East Lake Mary Boulevard, near the Orlando Sanford International Airport, will include a baseball stadium and fields for soccer, lacrosse, football and softball.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2016.

Youth sports tournaments have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, primarily because of a growing number of families willing to travel across the country to watch their kids compete in sports tournaments.

According to a recent Seminole County study, one tournament at the new complex could draw as many as 1,900 people. Seventeen events in the first year would generate about $19 million for the local economy and add more than a dozen jobs.

The county will use a mix of revenues, including tourist taxes, to pay for the bonds to build the complex.

 

orlandosentinel.com

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